adjective
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of, relating to, or of the nature of paralysis
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afflicted with or subject to paralysis
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informal very drunk
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of paralytic
1300–50; Middle English paralitik < Latin paralyticus < Greek paralytikós, equivalent to paraly- ( see paralysis) + -tikos -tic
Vocabulary lists containing paralytic
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.
During this six-month period, mussels may have naturally occurring toxins that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning and domoic acid biotoxins, also known as amnesic shellfish poisoning.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2025
Pakistan is launching a nationwide polio vaccination campaign on 28 October to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of five against paralytic polio.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2024
"We find paralytic shellfish toxins in our shellfish pretty much year-round at this point."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2024
There’s all sorts of interpretations about what actually happens after the paralytic.
From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2024
She rose and hobbled to me on her paralytic legs and kissed me.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
