crippling

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of cripple

adj

1. That cripples or incapacitates

   “crippling depression”

2. Causing a severe and insurmountable problem; detrimental.

   “The high cost of capital has a crippling effect on many small firms.”

   “The company, appreciating the crippling affect ^([sic]) that this scheme will have on its activities unless the railway is diverted, has petitioned against the North Wales Hydro-Electric Power Bill at present before the House of Lords.”

3. Causing serious injuries, damage, or harm; damaging.

   “crippling debt”

   “Today, the world is seeing record-shattering storms in California and catastrophic drought in places like East Africa. But by the 2030s, as temperatures rise, climate hazards are expected to increase all over the globe as different countries face more crippling heat waves, worsening coastal flooding and crop failures, the report says.”

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The act by which somebody or something is crippled.