quadriplegic

[ kwod-ruh-plee-jik, -plej-ik ]

adjective

1. having quadriplegia; paralyzed from the neck down or in all four limbs as a result of disease or injury.

noun

1. a person who is paralyzed in this way.

Word History and Origins

Origin of quadriplegic¹

First recorded in 1960–65; quadripleg(ia) + -ic

Example Sentences

He is also quadriplegic after suffering a neck injury that left him paralyzed below his shoulders.

From Digiday

Langevin, 57, is the first quadriplegic elected to Congress and is serving his 11th term.

From Washington Post

Lauren, because of brain injuries she experienced in the womb, is quadriplegic, blind, and affected by a seizure disorder, among other disabilities.

From MIT Technology Review

One patient, a childhood friend of Duntsch’s, went in for a spinal operation with someone he trusted and woke up a quadriplegic after the doctor damaged his vertebral artery.

From Time

My best friend is a C-4/C-5 quadriplegic who depends on around-the-clock care.

From The Daily Beast

And the day-to-day existence of a quadriplegic is far crueler than most people imagine.

From The Daily Beast

He wound up a quadriplegic with restricted vision who could only communicate by screaming.

From The Daily Beast

But to watch her suffer for three years, she was a quadriplegic, it was a very helpless feeling for me.

From The Daily Beast

She currently splits her time between her career and being a caretaker for her brother, a recent quadriplegic.

From The Daily Beast

We have all witnessed some of these applications: sensors connected to unharmed nervous terminals allow the quadriplegic to move.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• paralyzed