debility

[dih-bil-i-tee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR debility ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural de·bil·i·ties.

a weakened or enfeebled state; weakness: Debility prevented him from getting out of bed.

a particular mental or physical handicap; disability.

Origin of debility

1425–75; late Middle English debylite < Middle French debilite < Latin dēbilitās, equivalent to dēbil(is) weak + -itās -ity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for debility

enfeeblement, decrepitude, feebleness, disease, malaise, exhaustion, frailty, languor, enervation, infirmity, faintness, sickliness

Examples from the Web for debility

Historical Examples of debility

It is wrong that the Unknown should profit by man's debility and ignorance.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
It affects the nerves, causing irritability and debility in them.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)
William Delisle Hay
One is not accountable for words uttered in moments of debility and hunger.
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever
This is, generally, the result of debility, or severe labor.
Cattle and Their Diseases
Robert Jennings
They lead to excitement and debility, sometimes to danger and disease.
The Physical Life of Woman:
Dr. George H Napheys

British Dictionary definitions for debility

debility

noun plural -ties

weakness or infirmity

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 debility

early 15c., from Middle French debilite (Modern French débilité) or directly from Latin debilitatem (nominative debilitas) "a laming, crippling, weakening," from debilis "lame, disabled, crippled," figuratively "weak, helpless," from de- "from, away" (see de-) + -bilis "strength," from PIE root *bel- (see Bolshevik).

debility in Medicine

debility

[dĭ-bĭl′ĭ-tē]

n.

The state of being weak or feeble; infirmity.