paralytic

[ par-uh-lit-ik ]

/ ˌpær əˈlɪt ɪk /

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See synonyms for paralytic on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person affected with paralysis.

adjective

affected with or subject to paralysis.

pertaining to or of the nature of paralysis.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of paralytic

1300–50; Middle English paralitik<Latin paralyticus<Greek paralytikós, equivalent to paraly- (see paralysis) + -tikos-tic

OTHER WORDS FROM paralytic

par·a·lyt·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·par·a·lyt·ic, adjective, nounpost·par·a·lyt·ic, adjectivesem·i·par·a·lyt·ic, noun, adjective

sub·par·a·lyt·ic, adjective

Words nearby paralytic

Paralympic Games, Paralympics, paralyse, paralysis, paralysis agitans, paralytic, paralyze, paramagnet, paramagnetic, paramagnetism, Paramaribo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use paralytic in a sentence

Public health officials said the traces of poliovirus found in sewage samples from early June in Rockland County and greater Jerusalem were still too weak to cause paralytic polio.
New York Polio Case Now Connected to Traces of Virus Found in UK and Israel|by Robin Fields|July 29, 2022|ProPublica
This year, though, a young child in the Jerusalem area came down with paralytic polio.
How Polio Crept Back Into the U.S.|by Robin Fields|July 26, 2022|ProPublica
The disease can spread explosively and exponentially, with an average of 200 silent carriers for every paralytic case.
Polio Makes a Comeback in Ukraine as War Halts Vaccination Campaign|Tara Law|March 9, 2022|Time
The sedative midazolam was administered to Lockett first, followed by a paralytic called vecuronium bromide.
Oklahoma will not execute Julius Jones, but the outcome should still trouble you|Jamil Smith|November 18, 2021|Vox

AFM is a paralytic condition that is not polio—but not dissimilar to polio either.
AFM, a Biennial Polio-Like Viral Illness, Is Expected to Hit the U.S. in 2020|Jeffrey Kluger|August 4, 2020|Time
I know a woman who has, several times, been driven to the brink of paralytic rage by the way her books have been received.
Constructive Criticism: Reviewing the Idea of Reviewing|Ben Greenman|May 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Paralytic Child Walking on All Fours (from Muybridge), from that year, is a fine example of this stylistic shift.
Art's Obsessive Genius|Paul Laster|May 20, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The healing of the paralytic has been regarded as a type of the restoration of the soul paralyzed by sin.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
In man there is a premonitory stage; a furious stage, which lasts from about a day to three days; then a final paralytic stage.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
The walking may simulate paralytic forms if hysteria is mixed with the neurasthenia.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
If that same paralytic were lying in his bed at home and you set the house afire he would jump up and run.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
A paralytic stroke seized him within a few hours of young Thomas's arrival, and he never fully recovered his faculties.
The Life of Thomas Wanless, Peasant|Alexander Johnstone Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for paralytic

paralytic

/ (ˌpærəˈlɪtɪk) /

adjective

of, relating to, or of the nature of paralysis

afflicted with or subject to paralysis

British informal very drunk

noun

a person afflicted with paralysis

Derived forms of paralytic

paralytically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

paralytic

Origin of paralytic

OTHER WORDS FROM paralytic

Words nearby paralytic

Words related to paralytic

How to use paralytic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for paralytic

Derived forms of paralytic