PARALYZE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does paralyze mean? 

• PARALYZE (verb)
  The verb PARALYZE has 2 senses:

1. make powerless and unable to function

2. cause to be paralyzed and immobile

  Familiarity information: PARALYZE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PARALYZE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they paralyze    ... he / she / it paralyzes   
Past simple: paralyzed   
Past participle: paralyzed   
-ing form: paralyzing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make powerless and unable to function

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

paralyse; paralyze

Context example:

The bureaucracy paralyzes the entire operation

Hypernyms (to "paralyze" is one way to...):

deactivate; inactivate (make inactive)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause to be paralyzed and immobile

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

paralyse; paralyze

Context example:

Fear paralyzed her

Hypernyms (to "paralyze" is one way to...):

immobilise; immobilize (cause to be unable to move)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "paralyze"):

palsy (affect with palsy)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

I stood like a man paralyzed, still staring at the ground which I had traversed.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Both had been paralyzed for more than 18 months.

(Spinal cord stimulation helps paralyzed people move hands, NIH)

Symptoms include muscle weakness, wasting, twitching, trouble swallowing, and slowly becoming paralyzed.

(Motor neuron disease, NCI Dictionary)

A procedure in which small electric impulses are used to stimulate muscles that are weak or paralyzed.

(NES, NCI Dictionary)

Symptoms may include: • A limp or paralyzed arm • Lack of muscle control in the arm, hand, or wrist • Lack of feeling or sensation in the arm or hand

(Brachial Plexus Injuries, NIH)

In severe cases, you become almost paralyzed.

(Guillain-Barre Syndrome, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Botox injections work by weakening or paralyzing certain muscles or by blocking certain nerves.

(Botox, NIH)

He may have been asleep, or he may have been so paralyzed with terror as to have been unable to cry out.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The loss of the ability to speak can have devastating effects on patients whose facial, tongue, and larynx muscles have been paralyzed due to stroke or other neurological conditions.

(Scientists translate brain signals into speech sounds, National Institutes of Health)

It first occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep and is characterized by darting eyes, raised heart rates, paralyzed limbs, awakened brain waves and dreaming.

(The brain may actively forget during dream sleep, National Institutes of Health)