Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: Greek, from paralyein 'to loosen'

paralysis

 noun
     
Related topics: Illness and Disability
pa‧ral‧y‧sis [uncountable]
1MI the loss of the ability to move all or part of your body or feel things in it:
paralysis of the lower body
The snake's poison causes paralysis.
2 a state of being unable to take action, make decisions, or operate normally:
a period of political paralysis
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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