Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

paralysis

/pəˈɹæləsəs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.48 in modern English

Syllables: paral-y-sis
IPA: /pəˈɹæləsəs/

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The complete loss of voluntary control of part of a living body, such as one or more limbs.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A state of being unable to act.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The government has been in a paralysis since it lost its majority in the parliament."
"Until then, the Sunak administration remains a study in ineffectuality on multiple fronts, leading Goldsmith to cite, not unreasonably, “a kind of paralysis”."
"Will this decision-making paralysis continue until Great British Railways has been established and settled into a new rhythm? If so, passengers on the West of England line are in for a rough ride, as the reliability of these tired old British Rail trains inevitably declines, and maintenance costs rise."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin paralysis, from Ancient Greek παράλυσις (parálusis, “palsy”), from παραλύω (paralúō, “to disable on one side”). By surface analysis, para- + -lysis. Doublet of palsy.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: paralysis, παράλυσις, *preh₂-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /pəˈɹæləsəs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

paralyses (plural)

Derived Forms

acroparalysis angioparalysis hemiparalysis immunoparalysis iridoparalysis keraunoparalysis laryngoparalysis neuroparalysis pseudoparalysis semiparalysis stethoparalysis vasoparalysis

Phrases

analysis paralysis Australian paralysis tick Brown-Séquard's paralysis Chronic bee paralysis virus fowl paralysis general paralysis general paralysis of the insane infantile paralysis

Frequently Paired Words

paralyse paralyze paralytic -plegia: paraplegia quadriplegia etc paresis

Synonyms

immobility palsy

Rhymes With

analysis dialysis psychoanalysis

Questions

How do you pronounce paralysis?: The recorded pronunciation is /pəˈɹæləsəs/.
What does paralysis mean?: The complete loss of voluntary control of part of a living body, such as one or more limbs.
Where does paralysis come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce paralysis

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “paralysis”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pəˈɹæləsəs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “paralysis”.
Repeat and practice — Say “paralysis” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.