Adjacent Words

Paralysis definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PARAL'YSIS, n. [Gr. to loosen, dissolve or weaken.] Palsy; the loss of the power of muscular motion, or of the command of the muscles.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: loss of the ability to move a body part [syn: paralysis, palsy]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural paralyses) Etymology: Latin, from Greek, from paralyein to loosen, disable, from para- + lyein to loosen — more at lose Date: 1525 1. complete or partial loss of function especially when involving the motion or sensation in a part of the body 2. loss of the ability to move 3. a state of powerlessness or incapacity to act

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. paralyses) 1 a nervous condition with impairment or loss of esp. the motor function of the nerves. 2 a state of utter powerlessness. Etymology: L f. Gk paralusis f. paraluo disable (as PARA-(1), luo loosen)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Paralysis Pa*ral"y*sis, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to loosen, dissolve, or disable at the side; ? beside + ? to loosen. See Para-, and Loose, and cf. Palsy.] (Med.) Abolition of function, whether complete or partial; esp., the loss of the power of voluntary motion, with or without that of sensation, in any part of the body; palsy. See Hemiplegia, and Paraplegia. Also used figuratively. ``Utter paralysis of memory.'' --G. Eliot. Mischievous practices arising out of the paralysis of the powers of ownership. --Duke of Argyll (1887).

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Paralysis is the loss of the ability to move and feel in all or part of your body. ...paralysis of the leg. 2. Paralysis is the state of being unable to act or function properly. The paralysis of the leadership leaves the army without its supreme command.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Palsy.

Moby Thesaurus

a wise passiveness, abscess, ague, anemia, ankylosis, anoxia, apnea, apoplexy, asphyxiation, asthma, ataxia, atrophy, backache, bleeding, blennorhea, cachexia, cachexy, catalepsy, cataplexy, chill, chills, colic, constipation, contemplation, contemplative life, convulsion, coughing, cyanosis, diarrhea, diplegia, dizziness, do-nothing policy, do-nothingism, do-nothingness, dormancy, dropsy, dysentery, dyspepsia, dyspnea, edema, emaciation, fainting, fatigue, fever, fibrillation, flux, growth, hemiplegia, hemorrhage, high blood pressure, hydrops, hypertension, hypotension, icterus, idleness, immobility, inaction, inactivity, indigestion, indolence, inertia, inertness, infantile paralysis, inflammation, insomnia, itching, jaundice, labored breathing, laissez-aller, laissez-faire, laissez-faireism, low blood pressure, lumbago, marasmus, meditation, nasal discharge, nausea, necrosis, neutralism, neutrality, neutralness, noninvolvement, nonparticipation, nonresistance, nonviolence, nonviolent resistance, pacifism, pain, palsy, paraplegia, paresis, passive resistance, passive self-annihilation, passiveness, passivism, passivity, policy, polio, poliomyelitis, procrastination, pruritus, quiescence, quietism, rash, rheum, sclerosis, seizure, sensory paralysis, shock, skin eruption, sneezing, sore, spasm, stagnancy, stagnation, standpattism, stasis, stroke, tabes, tachycardia, tumor, upset stomach, vegetation, vertigo, vita contemplativa, vomiting, waiting game, wasting, watching and waiting