debilitate
[dih-bil-i-teyt]
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
Synonyms for debilitate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for debilitate
eviscerate, attenuate, disable, cripple, exhaust, harm, mar, devitalize, injure, prostrate, extenuate, relax, hurt, enfeeble, spoil, enervate, sap, blunt, undermine, weakenExamples from the Web for debilitate
Contemporary Examples of debilitate
Infernal, it can cause fires and explosions; toxic, it can debilitate, poison, and kill.
Historical Examples of debilitate
I will not debilitate the cook; I will not exhaust the fowl-yard.
No Defense, CompleteGilbert Parker
He was one of those whom books cannot debilitate, nor a life of study incapacitate for the study of life.
On the SublimeLonginus
Taking hot food or drink, habitually, tends to debilitate all the organs thus needlessly excited.
A Treatise on Domestic EconomyCatherine 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 EconomyCatherine Esther Beecher
This is to prevent the free escape of water, which might debilitate the starch-making cells.
Trees Worth KnowingJulia Ellen Rogers
debilitate
verb
Word Origin for debilitate
C16: from Latin dēbilitāre, from dēbilis weak
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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