palsy
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
Loss of the ability to move a body part.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pawlzeeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɔlzi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
pathology
Loss of the ability to move a body part
pathology
Complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part, often accompanied by a loss of feeling and uncontrolled body movements such as shaking.
verb
To paralyse, either completely or partially.
adjective
colloquial
Chummy, friendly.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Loss of the ability to move a body part
Used this way, palsy is a specialist word with a faintly unfavourable edge. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A loss or deficiency of motor control with involuntary spasms caused by permanent brain damage present at birth.
Paralysis of the arm resulting from injury to the brachial plexus (usually during childbirth).
A degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by tremor and impaired muscular coordination.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: loss of the ability to move a body part
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.