paralyse

/ ˈpærəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. pathol to affect with paralysis

2. med to render (a part of the body) insensitive to pain, touch, etc, esp by injection of an anaesthetic

3. to make immobile; transfix

Other Word Forms

• paralysation noun
• paralyser noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of paralyse¹

C19: from French paralyser, from paralysie _paralysis

Example Sentences

Back in Japan, a cyber-attack paralysed operations at a container terminal in the city of Nagoya for three days in 2024.

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In Cameroon's English-speaking North-West and South-West regions, where a long-running separatist conflict continues, an election boycott lockdown has been imposed, paralysing business activities, movement and education.

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Some of the garages forced to shut last week, paralysing the city, have now reopened after more 300 petrol tankers arrived under army escort from Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

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In September last year, hundreds of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in an Israeli operation that paralysed the group's communications systems and that Lebanon said killed 39 people and wounded thousands.

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That safety measure paralysed virtually every aspect of JLR's business and meant it could not build or sell any cars, or distribute parts to service centres.

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