different between demolish vs cripple

English

Etymology

Attested since the 16th century; from Middle French demoliss-, the stem of some conjugated forms of the verb demolir (“to destroy”, “to tear down”), from Latin d?m?lior (“I tear down”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??m?l.??/

Verb

demolish (third-person singular simple present demolishes, present participle demolishing, simple past and past participle demolished)

1. To destroy.
2. (transitive, figuratively) To defeat or consume utterly (as a theory, belief or opponent).
   • 1992, Robert Rankin, The Antipope (page 68)

     The Captain folded his brow into a look of intense perplexity. 'You seem exceedingly spry for a man who demolished an entire bottle of brandy and better part of an ounce of shag in a single evening.'
     'And very nice too,' said the tramp. 'Now as to breakfast?'

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:destroy

Related terms

• demolition

Translations

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “demolish”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• modelish

English

Alternative forms

• creeple (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English cripel, crepel, crüpel, from Old English crypel (“crippled; a cripple”), from Proto-Germanic *krupilaz (“tending to crawl; a cripple”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewb- (“to bend, crouch, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to bend, twist”), equivalent to creep +? -le. Cognate with Dutch kreupel, Low German Kröpel, German Krüppel, Old Norse kryppill.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k??pl/
• Rhymes: -?p?l

Adjective

cripple (not comparable)

1. (now rare, dated) Crippled.
   • 1599 — William Shakespeare, Henry V, iv 1

     And chide the cripple tardy-gaited night, who, like a foul and ugly witch, doth limp so tediously away.

Translations

Noun

cripple (plural cripples)

1. (sometimes offensive) a person who has severely impaired physical abilities because of deformation, injury, or amputation of parts of the body.

   He returned from war a cripple.

   • I am […] a cripple in my limbs; but what decays are in my mind, the reader must determine.

2. A shortened wooden stud or brace used to construct the portion of a wall above a door or above and below a window.
3. (dialect, Southern US except Louisiana) scrapple.
4. (among lumbermen) A rocky shallow in a stream.

Synonyms

• disabled person

Derived terms

• Cripple Creek
• emotional cripple

Translations

Verb

cripple (third-person singular simple present cripples, present participle crippling, simple past and past participle crippled)

1. to make someone a cripple; to cause someone to become physically impaired

   The car bomb crippled five passers-by.

2. (figuratively) to damage seriously; to destroy

3. (figuratively) to cause severe and disabling damage; to make unable to function normally
   • 2019, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, I Don't Care

     With all these people all around / I'm crippled with anxiety / But I'm told it's where I'm s'posed to be.
4. to release a product (especially a computer program) with reduced functionality, in some cases, making the item essentially worthless.

   The word processor was released in a crippled demonstration version that did not allow you to save.

5. (slang, video games) to nerf something which is overpowered

Synonyms

• (cause physical disability): see Thesaurus:disable
• (seriously damage): see Thesaurus:destroy or Thesaurus:harm
• (release with reduced functionality): limit, restrict

Translations

See also

• disfigurement
• lame
• paralysis
• disability

Anagrams

• clipper