debility
Americannoun
-
debilities
plural
-
a weakened or enfeebled state; weakness.
Debility prevented him from getting out of bed.
-
a particular mental or physical disability.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of debility
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English debylite, from Middle French debilite, from Latin dēbilitās, from dēbil ( is ) “weak” + -itās -ity
Explanation
Debility is weakness caused by an illness, injury, or aging. Very elderly people often need extra care because of debility. Debility is similar to disability, although the first term tends to describe a slower process of slowing and weakening, either physically or mentally. It comes from the Latin debilitatem, "a weakening," and its roots, the prefix de-, "from or away," and -bilis, "strength." A lack of proper nutrition over a long period can cause debility, and the very act of living to be 120 is sure to result in debility as well.
Vocabulary lists containing debility
Novel Study: Ten Days in a Mad-House, Chapters I–X
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The Woman in White
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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.
See Examples For:
If your pain is from nerve compression, a disc issue or joint degeneration, inactivity can cause muscles to tighten, pain to worsen, loss of physical condition and more debility.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 15, 2025
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.
From Washington Post ● May 11, 2022
This season, the writers on “Succession” have been playing up the age-related debility and mental fogginess of their crotchety corporate monarch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2021
Whence the debility, the infantile degeneration of this imaginary.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2020
Some stretched themselves on the ground, and expired of mere famine and debility; nor was death any longer regarded as an evil, but rather as a welcome relief from a life of horror and despair.”
From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3 by Frederick Whymper
To really good contemporary artists, however, the debilities inherent to art made in a very small size are merely challenges to be met.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Among a population of veterans who have a high incidence of mental and physical debilities, some get discouraged and drop out of the process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
But his diagnosis of America’s debilities is more persuasive than his prescriptions to remedy them.
From New York Times ● Nov. 20, 2018
Such debilities can be found in many people with dementia.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 23, 2015
E. D.—Its effects are, to moderately warm and strengthen the vessels; and hence, in cold phlegmatic habits, it excites appetite, and proves serviceable in debilities of the nervous system.
From The Botanist's Companion, Volume II by William Salisbury
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.
