verb
Meaning 1
To afflict with paralysis.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
paralyze
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈpæɹəlaɪz/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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General-American: /ˈpæɹəˌlaɪz/ without the Mary–marry–merry merger
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/ˈpɛɹəˌlaɪz/ General American, Canada, Mary–marry–merry merger
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non-native Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australian: /ˈpæɹəlɑez/
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New-Zealand: /ˈpɛɹəlaɪz/
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New-Zealand: [ˈpɛɹəlɑez]
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CMU ARPABET: P EH1 R AH0 L AY2 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
verb
Meaning 2
To render unable to move; to immobilize.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To render unable to function properly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- The transport strike paralyzed the city.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
cause to be paralyzed and immobile
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The poison paralyzed him
- Fear paralyzed her
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: paralyse
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: immobilize, immobilise
Narrower terms: palsy
verb
Meaning 5
make powerless and unable to function
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The bureaucracy paralyzes the entire operation
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: paralyse
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: inactivate, deactivate
History
Etymology
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.
Across languages
Translations
35 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: أَشَلَّ (ʔašalla) — to afflict with paralysis
- Azerbaijani: iflic etmək — to afflict with paralysis
- Belarusian: паралізава́ць (paralizavácʹ) — to afflict with paralysis
- Bulgarian: парализи́рам (paralizíram) — to afflict with paralysis
- Catalan: paralitzar — to afflict with paralysis
- Chinese Mandarin: 麻痺 /麻痹 (mábì) — to afflict with paralysis
- Czech: ochromit — to afflict with paralysis
- Czech: paralyzovat — to afflict with paralysis
- Dutch: verlammen — to afflict with paralysis
- Esperanto: paralizi — to afflict with paralysis
- Finnish: halvaannuttaa — to afflict with paralysis
- French: paralyser — to afflict with paralysis
- Galician: paralizar — to afflict with paralysis
- Galician: entanguiñar — to afflict with paralysis
- German: paralysieren — to afflict with paralysis
- German: lähmen — to afflict with paralysis
- Greek: παραλύω (paralýo) — to afflict with paralysis
- Hebrew: שִׁיתֵּק (shiték) — to afflict with paralysis
- Hungarian: megbénít — to afflict with paralysis
- Italian: paralizzare — to afflict with paralysis
- Japanese: 麻痺する (mahi suru) — to afflict with paralysis
- Māori: mae — to afflict with paralysis
- Māori: pararūtiki — to afflict with paralysis
- Māori: pararaiha — to afflict with paralysis
- Mongolian: саа дайрах (saa dajrax) — to afflict with paralysis
- Mongolian: ᠰᠠ ᠳᠠᠭᠠᠷᠢᠬᠤ (sa daɣariqu) — to afflict with paralysis
- Occitan: paralisar — to afflict with paralysis
- Polish: paraliżować — to afflict with paralysis
- Polish: sparaliżować — to afflict with paralysis
- Portuguese: paralisar — to afflict with paralysis
- Romanian: paraliza — to afflict with paralysis
- Russian: парализова́ть (paralizovátʹ) — to afflict with paralysis
- Spanish: paralizar — to afflict with paralysis
- Swedish: förlama — to afflict with paralysis
- Ukrainian: паралізува́ти (paralizuváty) — to afflict with paralysis