as in injured
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1
as in incapacitated
to cause severe or permanent injury to
the car crash may have crippled two people for life
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2
as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the collision so severely crippled the ship that it had to be towed into port
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3
as in paralyzed
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crippled
Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2026
Nashville, where power infrastructure was particularly crippled, is forecast to only reach around 20 degrees while Tupelo could approach 26 degrees.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
The crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft flew a similar circumlunar route, reaching 158 miles beyond the far side of the moon at its most remote remove.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
Some—or all—of that could be crippled if an autonomous agent just completes a transaction and then vanishes.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2026
The crippled government is seeking to regain its footing, deploying large numbers of military and paramilitary personnel to secure the capital.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Jan. 2026
Soon Hatchet was rousting birds out of overgrown creek bottoms and tracking down crippled roosters in cattails.
—Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 24 Dec. 2025
Jamaica’s regional tourism, fishing and agriculture industries – still recovering from Hurricane Beryl a year earlier – were crippled.
—Shannon Gibson, The Conversation, 19 Nov. 2025
The Max program was crippled following two crashes of the planes in 2018 and 2019, which killed all 346 people on the two flights.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025
Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Widespread power outages, dilapidated equipment, and a lack of spare parts from absent foreign firms crippled operations.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Mexico has since emerged as Cuba’s single largest external oil supplier, making its role critical for an island already crippled by chronic energy shortages, rolling blackouts and deepening economic stagnation.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2026
Microsoft has found what caused an outage that crippled its services like Outlook and Teams.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
Extreme cost-cutting efforts from Elon Musk’s DOGE crippled entire agencies, including USAID, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
Historically, submarine attacks nearly crippled Britain during World War II.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 19 Jan. 2026
While 3-point shooting was never supposed to be the biggest strength of this team, this team’s inability to knock down outside jumpers has crippled the offense in the past few games.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
However, researchers say the Western sanctions have also crippled Iran’s middle class – the base of the country’s reform movement – who see few opportunities for economic growth.
—Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
In August 2023, a cyberattack crippled operations at Prospect’s facilities around the country.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2026
Nashville, where power infrastructure was particularly crippled, is forecast to only reach around 20 degrees while Tupelo could approach 26 degrees.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
The crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft flew a similar circumlunar route, reaching 158 miles beyond the far side of the moon at its most remote remove.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
Some—or all—of that could be crippled if an autonomous agent just completes a transaction and then vanishes.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2026
The crippled government is seeking to regain its footing, deploying large numbers of military and paramilitary personnel to secure the capital.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Jan. 2026
Soon Hatchet was rousting birds out of overgrown creek bottoms and tracking down crippled roosters in cattails.
—Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 24 Dec. 2025
Jamaica’s regional tourism, fishing and agriculture industries – still recovering from Hurricane Beryl a year earlier – were crippled.
—Shannon Gibson, The Conversation, 19 Nov. 2025
The Max program was crippled following two crashes of the planes in 2018 and 2019, which killed all 346 people on the two flights.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
In 2021, a record-shattering outbreak of cold in Texas crippled the state’s electric grid, a meltdown blamed in large part on failures in its gas infrastructure.
—Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Widespread power outages, dilapidated equipment, and a lack of spare parts from absent foreign firms crippled operations.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Mexico has since emerged as Cuba’s single largest external oil supplier, making its role critical for an island already crippled by chronic energy shortages, rolling blackouts and deepening economic stagnation.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2026
Microsoft has found what caused an outage that crippled its services like Outlook and Teams.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
Extreme cost-cutting efforts from Elon Musk’s DOGE crippled entire agencies, including USAID, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
Historically, submarine attacks nearly crippled Britain during World War II.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 19 Jan. 2026
While 3-point shooting was never supposed to be the biggest strength of this team, this team’s inability to knock down outside jumpers has crippled the offense in the past few games.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
However, researchers say the Western sanctions have also crippled Iran’s middle class – the base of the country’s reform movement – who see few opportunities for economic growth.
—Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippled
Adjective
-
The resort’s ski patrol initially responded to the injured skier, who was trekking through the rugged and advanced Martis Trail, according to the Sierra Sun, which covers the local community.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2026
-
But the general manager used semantics to make his case, insisting several injured players, including Gerrit Cole, and summer trade acquisitions counted toward turnover.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Bhusri and Duffield’s agreement also means that if one of the cofounders is incapacitated or dies, the other gets control of both stakes.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
-
In the first half of the Super Bowl against Cincinnati, Beckham suffered a complete ACL tear and was incapacitated.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Built for extreme cold Corvus One for Cold Chain uses industrial-grade barcode scanners with precise control over focus and exposure, enabling reliable label capture even when barcodes are frosted, damaged, or low contrast.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Secure loose outdoor objects that could be blown around or damaged by the wind.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
At times paralyzed by self-doubt and criticism, Donatella believed in the life-changing magic of a great cocktail dress (or a good hair day) to elevate or protect yourself.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
-
While one of his victims, 19-year-old Darrell Cabey, was paralyzed and suffered permanent brain damage in the shooting, he and the other victims were villainized, even receiving piles of hate mail.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Harbin, who transferred from Portage after also attending Bishop Noll and Don Bosco, gained eligibility, and Young returned after suffering a broken hand.—
Michael Osipoff,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Many have pointed out that the evidence of climate change has only grown stronger over time with annual heat records being set and broken year after year and weather extremes from hurricanes to flooding to wildfires exacerbated by climate change.—
John Moritz,
Hartford Courant,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Two other people were wounded, including another police officer involved in the search for Thompson.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
-
These are a tiny fraction of the thousands of Iranians killed or wounded when the government cracked down on protests a month ago.—
Babak Dehghanpisheh,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In fact, Nanos' last election was marred by controversy.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
-
However, Machado seems to have regrouped following the elbow surgery that marred the end of his 2023 season and slowed him to start 2024.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
If the low-voltage battery dies or is disabled, the doors may not unlock and must be operated manually from the inside.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Some of these technologies are essential for ensuring the proper functioning of the service or website and cannot be disabled, while others are optional but serve to enhance the user experience in various ways.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crippled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippled. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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