debilitate

[ dih-bil-i-teyt ]

verb (used with object)

, de·bil·i·tat·ed, de·bil·i·tat·ing.

1. to make weak or feeble; enfeeble:

   The siege of pneumonia debilitated her completely.

   Synonyms: devitalize, enervate, deplete, weaken

debilitate

/ dɪˈbɪlɪˌteɪt /

verb

1. tr to make feeble; weaken

Derived Forms

• deˌbiliˈtation, noun

Other Words From

• de·bil·i·tant noun
• de·bil·i·ta·tion [dih-bil-i-, tey, -sh, uh, n], noun
• de·bil·i·ta·tive adjective
• non·de·bil·i·tat·ing adjective
• non·de·bil·i·ta·tive adjective
• o·ver·de·bil·i·tate verb (used with object) overdebilitated overdebilitating
• un·de·bil·i·tat·ed adjective
• un·de·bil·i·tat·ing adjective
• un·de·bil·i·ta·tive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of debilitate¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin dēbilitātus (past participle of dēbilitāre ), equivalent to dēbilit-, stem of dēbilis “weak” + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of debilitate¹

C16: from Latin dēbilitāre, from dēbilis weak

Example Sentences

A debilitating pandemic swept through the global economy, upending long-established ways of doing business.

From Digiday

That leads to dementia, a debilitating condition that affects millions of Americans each year.

From Popular-Science

Chikungunya is a disease that can result in debilitating joint pain.

From Science News

Extreme humidity from New Orleans to northern Wisconsin will make summers increasingly unbearable, turning otherwise seemingly survivable heat waves into debilitating health threats.

From ProPublica

His story also doubles as the suffocating, debilitating nature of the closet itself.

From Vox

Infernal, it can cause fires and explosions; toxic, it can debilitate, poison, and kill.

From The Daily Beast

Taking hot food or drink, habitually, tends to debilitate all the organs thus needlessly excited.

From Project Gutenberg

Many suppose that a warm bath exposes a person more readily to take cold; and that it tends to debilitate the system.

From Project Gutenberg

He was one of those whom books cannot debilitate, nor a life of study incapacitate for the study of life.

From Project Gutenberg

Even tea and coffee, the common beverages of all classes of people, have a tendency to debilitate the digestive organs….

From Project Gutenberg

In such a case diarrhea will no longer serve a good end, but will on the contrary debilitate the system.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• attenuate
• cripple
• disable
• eviscerate