- 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.
Much of the money has been wasted, financing factories and apartment blocks for which there isn’t enough demand, sparking debilitating price wars, and hurting profits and wages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Manganiello detailed debilitating abdominal pain, fevers, rashes, headaches, fatigue and ulcers in his digestive tract that caused bleeding and led to countless colonoscopies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
As part of her initial treatment, the BBC News chief presenter underwent several "debilitating" hour-long sessions of venesections.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
He continues to live with memory loss, chronic pain and debilitating headaches.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Despite the brutal, debilitating impact of these “collateral consequences” on the lives of those convicted of crimes, courts have generally declined to find that such sanctions are actually “punishment” for constitutional purposes.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
