as in weakness
the quality or state of lacking physical strength or vigor
our grandmother's debility is due in large part to her advanced age
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of debility
The shadow of death and debility haunted American women throughout the nineteenth century.
—
Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024
President Biden’s troubles — lingering inflation, wars and rumors of wars, his debility — could have benefited any Republican.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
As with fibroids, hormonal treatments and surgical options can help, though scarring and changes in the nervous system’s threshold for perceiving pain (eventually creating the experience of pain even in the absence of a stimulus) can create long-term debilities.
—Laura Kolbe, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024
In Amy Schumer’s comedy special Emergency Contact, the comedian talks about developing hyperemesis gravidarum, a potentially life-threatening condition that causes extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting and might lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and debility.
—Brianna Holt, Vogue, 7 July 2023
Given their ages and debilities, these soldiers had been deemed unfit for active service.
—David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven widespread debility, whether a result of distress or the virus itself, compounded in either case by political abandonment and public health failures.
—Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 8 Dec. 2022
Has our battle with COVID-19 come to such a standstill that a slow burn of disruption, debility, and death will continue for years to come?
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2022
At 40, Baudelaire was a shadow of his former self, crushed by unrepayable debts, suffering the aftereffects of a seemingly minor stroke, and facing the onset of syphilitic debility.
—Washington Post, 11 May 2022
Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024
President Biden’s troubles — lingering inflation, wars and rumors of wars, his debility — could have benefited any Republican.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
As with fibroids, hormonal treatments and surgical options can help, though scarring and changes in the nervous system’s threshold for perceiving pain (eventually creating the experience of pain even in the absence of a stimulus) can create long-term debilities.
—Laura Kolbe, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024
In Amy Schumer’s comedy special Emergency Contact, the comedian talks about developing hyperemesis gravidarum, a potentially life-threatening condition that causes extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting and might lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and debility.
—Brianna Holt, Vogue, 7 July 2023
Given their ages and debilities, these soldiers had been deemed unfit for active service.
—David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven widespread debility, whether a result of distress or the virus itself, compounded in either case by political abandonment and public health failures.
—Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 8 Dec. 2022
Has our battle with COVID-19 come to such a standstill that a slow burn of disruption, debility, and death will continue for years to come?
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2022
At 40, Baudelaire was a shadow of his former self, crushed by unrepayable debts, suffering the aftereffects of a seemingly minor stroke, and facing the onset of syphilitic debility.
—Washington Post, 11 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debility
Noun
-
While the dollar strengthened for the second day on Wednesday, Jefferies thinks the greenback could be in for an extended period of weakness.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
28 May 2025
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One weakness in Capture One's utility as a workflow solution has been its lack of sharing to established online photo venues, but there's a ray of light on this count.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
28 May 2025
Noun
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Trade timing The timing for adding bearish exposure to DE is optimal, as the stock has reached a recent all-time high and is showing signs of exhaustion with bearish divergence on the weekly RSI.—
Tony Zhang,
CNBC,
21 May 2025
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When exhaustion threatened to derail my progress, focusing on just reaching the next marker renewed my determination.—
Natalie Nixon,
Flow Space,
21 May 2025
Noun
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Mind fatigue can lead to shortcuts such as not thoroughly proofing an important email or opting out of decision-making with your team.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
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But JPMorgan believes signs of fatigue among retail investors means further gains may be hard to come by.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
15 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debility. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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