- present participle of debilitate.
debilitating
Britishadjective
Explanation
Something that's debilitating seriously affects someone or something's strength or ability to carry on with regular activities, like a debilitating illness. Debilitating comes from the Latin word debilis, meaning "weak." That's why you'll often see the adjective used to describe illness. After all, serious diseases weaken the body. Other things that can be debilitating are those that can stop you from reaching a goal, like a debilitating snow storm that forces you to stay home, or debilitating shyness that keeps you from reaching out to the people you want to meet.
Vocabulary lists containing debilitating
This Week in Words: February 5 - 9, 2018
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Feeling Faint: Synonyms for "Weak"
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Scythe
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It's very painful, and it's very debilitating in many respects, but he's still out there. He's still doing his thing...he so believes in this country."
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
He revealed that the "cancer has spread, metastasised into his bones and further. It's very painful" and "very debilitating".
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The debilitating onset of psychosis was “no longer the start of an inner journey. . . . It was a brain disease.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
They suffer unexpected and debilitating health events, often through no fault of their own, and end up under a mountain of medical bills — health-related issues are still the No. 1 cause of bankruptcy.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Virgil wished he’d never learned that, because now he was convinced that Gulliver suffered from debilitating depression.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
