Idiom idiom
emotional cripple
Meaning
A person who has been rendered indecisive, alienated, uncaring, confused, or helpless through experiencing debilitating emotions, such as worry, fear, panic, despair, etc.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He acts like an emotional cripple whenever he talks about his past.”
“After years of toxic relationships, she felt like an emotional cripple who could no longer trust anyone.”
“The protagonist, long haunted by his childhood trauma, remained an emotional cripple, unable to form the deep connections he desperately craved.”
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026