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| par·a·lyze [ párrə lz ] (past and past participle par·a·lyzed, present participle par·a·lyz·ing, 3rd person present singular par·a·lyz·es) |
transitive verb |
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| Definition: |
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1. deprive somebody of voluntary movement: to cause somebody to lose the ability to move a part of the body, either by damaging nerve or muscle function, or through the use of a drug
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2. make somebody temporarily unable to move: to make somebody temporarily unable to move, e.g. with fear
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3. bring system to standstill: to bring a system or network to a stop or prevent it from functioning effectively
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| [Late 18th century. < French paralyser< Latin paralysis (see paralysis)] |
