cripple
Americannoun
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Offensive. a term used to refer to a person who is partially or totally unable to use one or more limbs.
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an animal that is similarly disabled; a lame animal.
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Offensive. a person who is disabled or impaired in any way.
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anything that is impaired or flawed.
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a wounded animal, especially one shot by a hunter.
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Carpentry. any structural member shorter than usual, as a stud beneath a windowsill.
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Delaware Valley. a swampy, densely overgrown tract of land.
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
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offensive a person who is lame
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offensive a person who is or seems disabled or deficient in some way
a mental cripple
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dialect a dense thicket, usually in marshy land
verb
Sensitive Note
When referring to someone for whom it is difficult or impossible to walk or move without some kind of external aid like crutches or a wheelchair, sensitivity is called for. The noun cripple and the adjective crippled are no longer considered appropriate. Although these terms have been in use since before the year 950, since the mid-1900s they have become increasingly uncommon and are largely regarded as insulting. Since the late 20th century, the terms handicapped and the handicapped, once thought to be acceptable alternatives, have also become, at least in some contexts, offensive. ( Handicapped remains acceptable, however, in certain set phrases like handicapped parking. ) Attempts to replace crippled with the milder euphemistic term physically challenged were sidetracked by a virtual explosion of satirical imitations like economically challenged (poor), ethically challenged (immoral), and vertically challenged (short). Currently acceptable terms are disabled and people with disabilities. These terms are not only less likely to offend, they are more useful. While cripple and crippled traditionally denoted permanent impairments of one or more limbs, disabled is a broader, more comprehensive word that can refer to many different kinds of physical or mental impairments, whether temporary or permanent. cripple and crippled are not usually problematic when referring to an inanimate object or an animal. And cripple is unlikely to be deemed offensive as a verb, especially metaphorically, as in Failing to upgrade the computer system will cripple our business. Like many other usually offensive terms, the word cripple can also be acceptable when used by people with disabilities in self-reference, as an act of reclamation, or for political purposes. See also retarded ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
- crippler noun
- cripplingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of cripple
First recorded before 950; Middle English cripel, Old English crypel; akin to creep
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The extended uncertainty surrounding tariff and trade policy created a crippling degree of uncertainty for many firms, sending them to the sidelines to wait for more clarity,” writes Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander.
From Barron's
Her Imagination Library, inspired by her belief that her father had been “crippled” by illiteracy, has reportedly distributed some 300 million books to children.
This year, for the first time, companies representing the bulk of Italian pasta exports to the U.S. faced the prospect of crippling penalties.
A new scientific breakthrough in the field of Alzheimer’s research is raising hopes that the cruel, crippling and fatal brain disease may eventually become curable.
From MarketWatch
That has included additional sanctions designed to economically cripple the country and dry up its oil revenues from sales on the global market.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
