cripple

[ krip-uhl ]

noun

1. 1. Offensive. a term used to refer to a person who is partially or totally unable to use one or more limbs.
   2. an animal that is similarly disabled; a lame animal.
   3. Offensive. a person who is disabled or impaired in any way.
2. anything that is impaired or flawed.
3. a wounded animal, especially one shot by a hunter.
4. Carpentry. any structural member shorter than usual, as a stud beneath a windowsill.
5. Delaware Valley. a swampy, densely overgrown tract of land.

verb (used with object)

, crip·pled, crip·pling.

1. to make a cripple of; lame.
2. to disable; impair; weaken:

   Indirect losses from extreme weather events have crippled the economy.

   The proposed hike in visa fees could further cripple the island's tourism industry.

adjective

1. Carpentry. jack ¹( def 29 ).

cripple

/ ˈkrɪpəl /

noun

1. offensive.
   a person who is lame
2. offensive.
   a person who is or seems disabled or deficient in some way

   a mental cripple

3. dialect.
   a dense thicket, usually in marshy land

verb

1. tr to make a cripple of; disable

Sensitive Note

When referring to someone for whom it is difficult or impossible to walk or move without some kind of external aid like crutches or a wheelchair, sensitivity is called for. The noun cripple and the adjective crippled are no longer considered appropriate. Although these terms have been in use since before the year 950, since the mid-1900s they have become increasingly uncommon and are largely regarded as insulting. Since the late 20th century, the terms handicapped and the handicapped, once thought to be acceptable alternatives, have also become, at least in some contexts, offensive. ( Handicapped remains acceptable, however, in certain set phrases like handicapped parking. ) Attempts to replace crippled with the milder euphemistic term physically challenged were sidetracked by a virtual explosion of satirical imitations like economically challenged (poor), ethically challenged (immoral), and vertically challenged (short). Currently acceptable terms are disabled and people with disabilities. These terms are not only less likely to offend, they are more useful. While cripple and crippled traditionally denoted permanent impairments of one or more limbs, disabled is a broader, more comprehensive word that can refer to many different kinds of physical or mental impairments, whether temporary or permanent. cripple and crippled are not usually problematic when referring to an inanimate object or an animal. And cripple is unlikely to be deemed offensive as a verb, especially metaphorically, as in Failing to upgrade the computer system will cripple our business. Like many other usually offensive terms, the word cripple can also be acceptable when used by people with disabilities in self-reference, as an act of reclamation, or for political purposes. retarded ( def ).

Derived Forms

• ˈcrippler, noun

Other Words From

• crip·pler noun
• crip·pling·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of cripple¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English cripel, Old English crypel; akin to creep

Word History and Origins

Origin of cripple¹

Old English crypel; related to crēopan to creep , Old Frisian kreppel a cripple, Middle Low German kröpel

Example Sentences

Set aside the preposterous contentions that “government agencies are no different” from corporations, or that mass-eliminating people by SSN would not cripple necessary everyday government functions like air traffic control and emergency relief and weather monitoring, even after screening them for constitutional knowledge or something.

From Slate

A drive to expel every undocumented immigrant would deprive California of more than 7% of its workforce, potentially cripple agriculture and construction, divide families and disrupt communities.

From Los Angeles Times

We understand that immigration reform is badly needed but know that Trump’s promised deportation of millions of people would cost a fortune, destroy major industries, raise the prices of goods and services, rip families apart and cripple the economy.

From Los Angeles Times

What is one down-ballot item you are voting on that you think is particularly important: Like many other New Yorkers, I am voting No on Props 2–6, all of which are attempts by Eric Adams and his allies to cripple the power of the City Council.

From Slate

Yet they also concluded that slavery was morally wrong and that a Southern slaveocracy's secession and success would cripple the republic, not to mention their own dignity.

From Salon

Related Words

• damage
• destroy
• halt
• hamstring
• impair
• ruin
• sideline
• stifle