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Definition of paraplegia

paraplegia

/ˌpær.əˈpliː.dʒi.ə/
par · a · ple · gi · a
Plural:paraplegias
•
Adjective:paraplegic
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paraplegia Lexical Profile

paraplegia Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

Paralysis of the legs and lower body, typically caused by a spinal cord injury or neurological disease.

Example

"Physical therapy helped the patient adapt to life with paraplegia following the spinal cord injury."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for paraplegia

Word Nuance & Usage

'Paraplegia' refers specifically to paralysis of the legs and lower body, whereas 'quadriplegia' (or 'tetraplegia') affects all four limbs, and 'hemiplegia' affects only one side of the body.

• Rhymes for paraplegia

• Nearby Words

paraphrasable
paraphrase
paraphraser
paraplegia
paraplegic
pararescue
pararescueman

Word Origin & Etymology

Borrowed via Late Latin from Ancient Greek 'paraplegia', meaning 'paralysis of one side', from 'paraplessein' ('to strike at the side'), combining 'para-' ('beside') and 'plessein' ('to strike').

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Paraplegia. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/paraplegia
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