adjective
-
of, relating to, or of the nature of paralysis
-
afflicted with or subject to paralysis
-
informal very drunk
noun
Other Word Forms
- nonparalytic adjective
- paralytically adverb
- postparalytic adjective
- semiparalytic noun
- subparalytic adjective
Etymology
Origin of paralytic
1300–50; Middle English paralitik < Latin paralyticus < Greek paralytikós, equivalent to paraly- ( paralysis ) + -tikos -tic
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.
No associated paralytic cases have been recorded so far.
From BBC • Jul. 23, 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
Lewin initially set his sights on proving that the potentially fatal paralytic effects of certain toxic substances could be reversed with an antiparalytic drug administered via a nasal spray.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2023
They told us that a blod clot had formed on my mother’s brain and that another paralytic stroke had set in.
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.
