debilitate

[dih-bil-i-teyt]

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verb (used with object), de·bil·i·tat·ed, de·bil·i·tat·ing.

to make weak or feeble; enfeeble: The siege of pneumonia debilitated her completely.

Origin of debilitate

1525–35; < Latin dēbilitātus (past participle of dēbilitāre), equivalent to dēbilit-, stem of dēbilis weak + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsde·bil·i·tant, nounde·bil·i·ta·tion, nounde·bil·i·ta·tive, adjectivenon·de·bil·i·tat·ing, adjectivenon·de·bil·i·ta·tion, nounnon·de·bil·i·ta·tive, adjectiveo·ver·de·bil·i·tate, verb (used with object), o·ver·de·bil·i·tat·ed, o·ver·de·bil·i·tat·ing.un·de·bil·i·tat·ed, adjectiveun·de·bil·i·tat·ing, adjectiveun·de·bil·i·ta·tive, adjective

Synonyms for debilitate

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weaken, deplete, enervate, devitalize.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for debilitate

eviscerate, attenuate, disable, cripple, exhaust, harm, mar, devitalize, injure, prostrate, extenuate, relax, hurt, enfeeble, spoil, enervate, sap, blunt, undermine, weaken

Examples from the Web for debilitate

Contemporary Examples of debilitate

Infernal, it can cause fires and explosions; toxic, it can debilitate, poison, and kill.
The Fiery Underground Oil Pit Eating L.A.
Geoff Manaugh
December 6, 2014

Historical Examples of debilitate

I will not debilitate the cook; I will not exhaust the fowl-yard.
No Defense, Complete
Gilbert Parker
He was one of those whom books cannot debilitate, nor a life of study incapacitate for the study of life.
On the Sublime
Longinus
Taking hot food or drink, habitually, tends to debilitate all the organs thus needlessly excited.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy
Catherine Esther Beecher
Many suppose that a warm bath exposes a person more readily to take cold; and that it tends to debilitate the system.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy
Catherine Esther Beecher
This is to prevent the free escape of water, which might debilitate the starch-making cells.
Trees Worth Knowing
Julia Ellen Rogers

British Dictionary definitions for debilitate

debilitate

verb

(tr) to make feeble; weaken

Derived Formsdebilitation, noun

Word Origin for debilitate

C16: from Latin dēbilitāre, from dēbilis weak

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for debilitate

1530s, from Latin debilitatus, past participle of debilitare "to weaken," from debilis "weak" (see debility). Related: Debilitated; debilitating.