enfeeble

American  

[en-fee-buhl] / ɛnˈfi bəl /

verb (used with object)

enfeebled, enfeebling

1. to make feeble; weaken.

   That bout of pneumonia enfeebled him.

   Synonyms:

   debilitate, enervate

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enfeeble British  

/ ɪnˈfiːbəl /

verb

1. (tr) to make weak; deprive of strength

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Other Word Forms

• enfeeblement
  noun
• enfeebler
  noun
• unenfeebled
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of enfeeble

1300–50; Middle English enfeblen < Old French enfeblir. See en- ¹, feeble

Explanation

To enfeeble is to make someone or something very weak or fragile. Your governor's budget cuts might enfeeble the state's public school system. If an illness weakens you — makes you feel frail and shaky — it enfeebles you. Aging enfeebles us, and the lack of Vitamin D in the winter also enfeebles many people. You can also say that making it harder for people to vote enfeebles the democratic process. The verb enfeeble combines the prefix en-, "cause to be," with feeble, with its Latin root flebilis, "that is to be wept over."

Example Sentences

Enfeeble, en-fē′bl, v.t. to make feeble: to weaken.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Related Words

• exhaust
• fatigue
• sap
• weaken