crippled
Definition
- Adjective:
- Disabled in the feet or legs: Describes a person or animal that has a severe physical impairment affecting their ability to walk or move normally due to an injury, illness, or congenital condition.
- Severely damaged or impaired: Can describe something that is so badly damaged or flawed that its function is severely limited.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective:
- The kind stranger helped the crippled man cross the busy street.
- After the accident, she was crippled and needed a wheelchair.
- The crippled ship limped back to port after the storm.
Advanced Usage
- "to be crippled by something": to be severely weakened, damaged, or impaired by a particular thing.
- The company was crippled by debt.
- His confidence was crippled by the constant criticism.
Variants and Related Words
- Cripple (verb): To cause someone or something to become disabled or severely impaired.
- The disease can cripple its victims.
- The strike crippled the city's transportation system.
Synonyms
- Lame: Unable to walk normally because of an injury or disability affecting a leg or foot.
- Disabled: Having a physical or mental condition that limits movements, senses, or activities.
- Handicapped: (Can be considered outdated or offensive; "disabled" is generally preferred) Having a condition that markedly restricts one's ability to function.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
- Cripple up (informal, often considered offensive): To become or cause to become crippled. (Note: This usage is generally avoided due to its insensitive connotations.)
- His old injury crippled him up in the cold weather.
Related Idioms
- A crippling blow: An event or action that causes severe damage or impairment.
- The loss of their main supplier was a crippling blow to the business.
- Economically/Financially crippled: Severely weakened in terms of economic or financial capacity.
- The war left the country economically crippled.
Adjective
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disabled in the feet or legs
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a crippled soldier
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a game leg
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