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.
She maintained a punishing schedule into her late 70s, until a debilitating stroke left her confined to her home, with Rogers running the company.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Jo Phillips, from Swansea, cares for her 22-year-old son who has debilitating OCD and autism.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Still, the disinflationary factors noted suggest “the inflationary fallout from the contemporary oil crisis may prove far less debilitating than widely feared.”
From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026
Perrine’s death was confirmed by Stacey Souther, her close friend and the director of the 2019 documentary “Valerie,” which followed the star’s debilitating battle with Parkinson’s disease.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026
This time she wept with no other emotion than grief, profound, debilitating, humble grief, forgetting all about him.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
