debilitate
verb
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Debilitate, enfeeble, undermine, and sap all share the general sense "to weaken." But while debilitate holds the distinction among these words of coming from the Latin word for "weak"—debilis—it packs a potent punch. Often used of disease or something that strikes like a disease or illness, debilitate might suggest a temporary impairment—but a pervasive one at that. Enfeeble, a very close synonym of debilitate, connotes a pitiable, but often reversible, condition of weakness and helplessness. Undermine and sap suggest a weakening by something working surreptitiously and insidiously.
Synonyms
Examples of debilitate in a Sentence
Gary Graff, Billboard, 31 Oct. 2024
Freeman, the Dodgers first baseman, overcame an at-times debilitating high right ankle sprain and was the obvious World Series MVP, with four homers and a record-tying 12 RBIs in the five games.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 31 Oct. 2024
The draft orders in the Doomsday Book are written for truly extraordinary situations that have debilitated the federal government or Congress and require the President to ensure the continuity of government, according to the former White House lawyers.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 15 Oct. 2024
Asheville residents are still without clean water Officials in Asheville, North Carolina, are scrambling to replenish clean drinking water two weeks after the remnants of Hurricane Helene debilitated critical supplies.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 14 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Debilitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debilitate. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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debilitate
verb
Medical Definition
debilitate
transitive verb
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