paralyse
- Verb (transitive):
- To cause paralysis; to make a person or body part unable to move or function: The primary meaning refers to inducing a loss of muscle function, often due to nerve damage, injury, or illness.
- To render powerless, inactive, or unable to function; to bring to a standstill: A figurative meaning describing the act of making a system, organization, or person completely ineffective or incapable of action, typically due to shock, fear, or overwhelming complexity.
Literal (Medical/Physical):
- The spinal injury could paralyse his legs.
- A rare virus can paralyse the respiratory muscles.
Figurative (Causing Inaction or Stoppage):
- The sudden news seemed to paralyse him with grief.
- A general strike paralysed the city's transportation network.
"to be paralysed by/with [emotion]": To be made completely unable to act or think because of a strong emotion like fear, terror, or shock.
- She was paralysed with fear when she saw the intruder.
- The team was paralysed by indecision.
"to paralyse [a system/process]": To cause an administrative, economic, or operational system to stop functioning effectively.
- Endless red tape continues to paralyse the approval process.
Paralysis (n): The state of being paralysed, either physically or figuratively.
- The accident resulted in permanent paralysis.
- Political paralysis prevented any new legislation.
Paralytic (adj/n): (Adjective) Relating to or affected with paralysis. (Noun, informal) A person affected by paralysis.
- He suffered paralytic strokes.
- (Informal) He was absolutely paralytic (extremely drunk) last night.
Paralyzed (adj): The common adjective form describing the state resulting from being paralysed.
- A paralyzed limb.
- A paralyzed government.
- Immobilize: To prevent something or someone from moving or operating.
- Disable: To deprive of capability or effectiveness.
- Debilitate: To make weak or infirm.
- Stultify: To cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative, especially as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine. (Closer to the figurative sense).
- Cripple: To cause severe damage to; to make something unable to function normally.
(Note: "Paralyse" itself is not commonly used with particles to form phrasal verbs. Its meanings are typically expressed directly or through prepositional phrases like "paralyse with").
- "Frozen in fear": An idiom similar to being , meaning to be so scared one cannot move.
- "Grind to a halt": An idiom for a process or system that slows down and stops completely, similar to being .
- Without funding, the research project ground to a halt.
-
cause to be paralyzed and immobile
-
The poison paralyzed him
-
Fear paralyzed her
-
-
make powerless and unable to function
-
The bureaucracy paralyzes the entire operation
-