From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishparalysepar‧a‧lyse British English, paralyze American English /ˈpærəlaɪz/ verb [transitive] 1 MIif something paralyses you, it makes you lose the ability to move part or all of your body, or to feel it Her legs were partly paralysed in the crash.2 STOP something THAT IS HAPPENINGto make something unable to operate normally Fear of unemployment is paralysing the economy. Motor traffic was paralysed in much of the city.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
paralyse• Boris is mentally paralysed by the situation, however.• He's twice suffered strokes and is paralysed down one side of his body.• Yet in the past week or two it has sometimes had a paralysing effect.• And then Frye began to scream, the sound of it paralysing everyone with fright again.• Then they jump on to their prey, paralyse it and feed on it.• Legs, eighty percent gone, left arm fifty percent paralysed, right arm, pretty well useless.• There are botulism injections available now to paralyse the frowning lines and the smiling ones too.• Strike action has paralysed the region's public transport system.• He was paralysed with the pain of the wound which pulsed in time to his heartbeat. 