paraplegic
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of paraplegic
First recorded in 1820–30; from New Latin paraplēgicus, from Ionic Greek paraplēgikós; see origin at paraplegia ( def. )
Explanation
To be paraplegic is to be unable to use the lower half of your body. People with this disability are called paraplegics. Paraplegic is a medical word for being paralyzed from the waist down. If you're paraplegic, you can't move your legs or anything below the waist, and you have no feeling in those areas either. People usually get this condition because of damage to the spinal cord, which could result from a disease or an accident. Paraplegics often use wheelchairs to get around. This word is similar to quadriplegic, referring to people who are paralyzed from the neck down.
Vocabulary lists containing paraplegic
This Week in Pop Culture: January 12 -18, 2019
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The View from Saturday
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 3–January 9, 2026
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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.
Paraplegic patients often languish without thorough and affordable care.
From New York Times • May 7, 2016
He had played table tennis as a boy at Liverpool Paraplegic Sports and Social Club which was, he says, "based in a hut".
From The Guardian • Dec. 18, 2012
Paraplegic triathletes face a similar rule aimed at leveling the playing field.
From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2010
Paraplegic since a gunman's attack in 1972, Wallace admitted that segregation and his past racial belligerence were wrong.
From Time Magazine Archive
Shortly after my high school graduation, I was injured in a dirt bike accident which left me a T4 Paraplegic.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
