paralyze

P3A1R1A1L1Y4Z10E1
UK/ˈpæɹəlaɪz/US/ˈpæɹəˌlaɪz//ˈpɛɹəˌlaɪz/Australia/ˈpæɹəlɑez/

verb

To afflict with paralysis.

“The transport strike paralyzed the city.”

Similar
paralyse
OriginMiddle English paralysie ← French paralyser →
UncommonScrabble 22
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbparalyze (third-person singular simple present paralyzes, present participle paralyzing, simple past and past participle paralyzed)

present singular third person paralyzes · participle present paralyzing · participle past paralyzed · past paralyzed · alternative paralyse

  1. transitiveTo afflict with paralysis.
  2. transitiveTo render unable to move; to immobilize.

    So I stood alone in horror / Paralyzed with fear and dread / When a voice dead and inhuman / Whispered to me "go, you fool, Warren's dead!"

    2006, The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, “Harley Got Devoured by the Undead”, in An Even Scarier Solstice
  3. transitiveTo render unable to function properly.

    The transport strike paralyzed the city.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbmake powerless and unable to function

Similar
paralyse
Broader
inactivatedeactivate

verbcause to be paralyzed and immobile

Similar
paralyse
Broader
immobilizeimmobilise
Also see
paralyse

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Frenchparalyser
  2. Middle Englishparalysie
  3. Englishparalyze

Partly a borrowing from French. Probably partly either (i) formed within English, by derivation. Or partly (ii) a borrowing from French, combined with an English element. Etymons: Middle English paralysie, -ize suffix; French paralyser.

More words from Middle English, French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic أَشَلَّ
  • أَشَلَّ (ʔašalla)to afflict with paralysis
Bulgarian парализи́рам
  • парализи́рам (paralizíram)to afflict with paralysis
Catalan paralitzar
  • paralitzarto afflict with paralysis
Chinese Mandarin 麻痺 /麻痹
  • 麻痺 /麻痹 (mábì)to afflict with paralysis
Czech ochromit, paralyzovat
  • ochromitto afflict with paralysis
  • paralyzovatto afflict with paralysis
Dutch verlammen
  • verlammento afflict with paralysis
Esperanto paralizi
  • paralizito afflict with paralysis
Finnish halvaannuttaa
  • halvaannuttaato afflict with paralysis
French paralyser
  • paralyserto afflict with paralysis
German paralysieren, lähmen
  • paralysierento afflict with paralysis
  • lähmento afflict with paralysis
Greek παραλύω
  • παραλύω (paralýo)to afflict with paralysis
Hebrew שִׁיתֵּק
  • שִׁיתֵּק (shiték)to afflict with paralysis
Hungarian megbénít
  • megbénítto afflict with paralysis
Italian paralizzare
  • paralizzareto afflict with paralysis
Japanese 麻痺する
  • 麻痺する (mahi suru)to afflict with paralysis
Māori mae, pararūtiki
  • maeto afflict with paralysis
  • pararūtikito afflict with paralysis
  • pararaihato afflict with paralysis
Polish paraliżować, sparaliżować
  • paraliżowaćto afflict with paralysis
  • sparaliżowaćto afflict with paralysis
Portuguese paralisar
  • paralisarto afflict with paralysis
Romanian paraliza
  • paralizato afflict with paralysis
Russian парализова́ть
  • парализова́ть (paralizovátʹ)to afflict with paralysis
Spanish paralizar
  • paralizarto afflict with paralysis
Swedish förlama
  • förlamato afflict with paralysis
Ukrainian паралізува́ти
  • паралізува́ти (paralizuváty)to afflict with paralysis
Cite this entry
APA

paralyze. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paralyze

MLA

“paralyze.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paralyze. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paralyze,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paralyze.

Source: paralyze on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.