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 January 23–26 system dumped snow and crippling ice from New Mexico to Maine, with some of the worst effects felt in the South, and it was linked to more than 100 deaths.
From Barron's
In yet another example of how the immigration raids had crippled attendance, some buses were nearly empty.
From Los Angeles Times
Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams said that while the baby bundles were welcomed, families had been waiting "throughout a crippling cost of living crisis" since the scheme was piloted in 2020.
From BBC
That move sparked a major row between Beijing and the West that threatened to cripple car manufacturers that rely on Nexperia chips.
From Barron's
The storm was expected to linger for days, shifting into the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states while crippling daily life and ushering in a frigid air mass across the country.
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.
