paralysis

paralysis
    n 1: loss of the ability to move a body part [syn: {paralysis},
         {palsy}]
    

Paralysis \Pa*ral"y*sis\, n. [L., fr. Gr. para`lysis, fr.
   paraly`ein to loosen, dissolve, or disable at the side; para`
   beside + ly`ein to loosen. See {Para-}, and {Loose}, and cf.
   {Palsy}.] (Med.)
   Abolition of function, whether complete or partial; esp., the
   loss of the power of voluntary motion, with or without that
   of sensation, in any part of the body; palsy. See
   {Hemiplegia}, and {Paraplegia}. Also used figuratively; as,
   paralysis of the will. "Utter paralysis of memory." --G.
   Eliot.
   [1913 Webster]

         Mischievous practices arising out of the paralysis of
         the powers of ownership.                 --Duke of
                                                  Argyll (1887).
   [1913 Webster]
    

129 Moby Thesaurus words for "paralysis":
      a wise passiveness, abscess, ague, anemia, ankylosis, anoxia,
      apnea, apoplexy, asphyxiation, asthma, ataxia, atrophy, backache,
      bleeding, blennorhea, cachexia, cachexy, catalepsy, cataplexy,
      chill, chills, colic, constipation, contemplation,
      contemplative life, convulsion, coughing, cyanosis, diarrhea,
      diplegia, dizziness, do-nothing policy, do-nothingism,
      do-nothingness, dormancy, dropsy, dysentery, dyspepsia, dyspnea,
      edema, emaciation, fainting, fatigue, fever, fibrillation, flux,
      growth, hemiplegia, hemorrhage, high blood pressure, hydrops,
      hypertension, hypotension, icterus, idleness, immobility, inaction,
      inactivity, indigestion, indolence, inertia, inertness,
      infantile paralysis, inflammation, insomnia, itching, jaundice,
      labored breathing, laissez-aller, laissez-faire, laissez-faireism,
      low blood pressure, lumbago, marasmus, meditation, nasal discharge,
      nausea, necrosis, neutralism, neutrality, neutralness,
      noninvolvement, nonparticipation, nonresistance, nonviolence,
      nonviolent resistance, pacifism, pain, palsy, paraplegia, paresis,
      passive resistance, passive self-annihilation, passiveness,
      passivism, passivity, policy, polio, poliomyelitis,
      procrastination, pruritus, quiescence, quietism, rash, rheum,
      sclerosis, seizure, sensory paralysis, shock, skin eruption,
      sneezing, sore, spasm, stagnancy, stagnation, standpattism, stasis,
      stroke, tabes, tachycardia, tumor, upset stomach, vegetation,
      vertigo, vita contemplativa, vomiting, waiting game, wasting,
      watching and waiting