What does "cripple" mean?
A person who has severely impaired physical abilities because of deformation, injury, or amputation of parts of the body.
Cripple
/ˈkɹɪp(ə)l/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who has severely impaired physical abilities because of deformation, injury, or amputation of parts of the body.
- Grammar: cripple is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abate, amputee, attenuate, barrier.
- Useful contrasts: able person, able-bodied person, advantage.
- Usage evidence: It's because of you that I'm a cripple!
How to use "cripple"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cripple" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cripple" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cripple" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cripple" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cripple" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cripple", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who has severely impaired physical abilities because of deformation, injury, or amputation of parts of the body. countable, offensive, uncountable
"He returned from war a cripple."
- 2 someone who is unable to walk normally because of an injury or disability to the legs or back wordnet
- 3 A person who is severely impaired or deficient in some non-physical way. broadly, countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Many a one, who perhaps doesn't suspect it, is a moral cripple, or maybe a mental cripple."
- 4 A shortened wooden stud or brace used to construct the portion of a wall above a door or above and below a window. countable, uncountable
- 5 Scrapple. dialectal, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A rocky shallow in a stream. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To make someone a cripple; to cause someone to become physically impaired.
"The car bomb crippled five passers-by."
- 2 deprive of the use of a limb, especially a leg wordnet
- 3 To damage seriously; to destroy. figuratively
"My ambitions were crippled by a lack of money."
- 4 deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless wordnet
- 5 To cause severe and disabling damage; to make unable to function normally. figuratively
"With all these people all around / I'm crippled with anxiety / But I'm told it's where I'm s'posed to be."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To release a product (especially a computer program) with reduced functionality, in some cases, making the item essentially worthless.
"The word processor was released in a crippled demonstration version that did not allow you to save."
- 7 To nerf something to the point of being underpowered. slang
Adjective
- 1 Crippled. archaic, dated, not-comparable
"And chide the cripple tardy-gaited night, who, like a foul and ugly witch, doth limp so tediously away."
Antonyms
Example
"It's because of you that I'm a cripple!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cripple"?
Common synonyms include: abate, amputee, attenuate, barrier, batter, blunt.
How do you use "cripple" in a sentence?
It's because of you that I'm a cripple!
How do you pronounce "cripple"?
Pronounced /ˈkɹɪp(ə)l/.
Etymology
From Middle English cripel, crepel, crüpel, from Old English crypel (“crippled; a cripple”), from Proto-Germanic *krupilaz (“tending to crawl; a cripple”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewb- (“to bend, crouch, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to bend, twist”), equivalent to creep + -le. Cognate with Dutch kreupel, Low German Kröpel, German Krüppel, Old Norse kryppill.