debility
Americannoun
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a weakened or enfeebled state; weakness.
Debility prevented him from getting out of bed.
-
a particular mental or physical disability.
noun
Etymology
Origin of debility
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English debylite, from Middle French debilite, from Latin dēbilitās, from dēbil ( is ) “weak” + -itās -ity
Explanation
Debility is weakness caused by an illness, injury, or aging. Very elderly people often need extra care because of debility. Debility is similar to disability, although the first term tends to describe a slower process of slowing and weakening, either physically or mentally. It comes from the Latin debilitatem, "a weakening," and its roots, the prefix de-, "from or away," and -bilis, "strength." A lack of proper nutrition over a long period can cause debility, and the very act of living to be 120 is sure to result in debility as well.
Vocabulary lists containing debility
Novel Study: Ten Days in a Mad-House, Chapters I–X
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The Woman in White
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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.
If your pain is from nerve compression, a disc issue or joint degeneration, inactivity can cause muscles to tighten, pain to worsen, loss of physical condition and more debility.
From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2025
This season, the writers on “Succession” have been playing up the age-related debility and mental fogginess of their crotchety corporate monarch.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2021
Whence the debility, the infantile degeneration of this imaginary.
From Salon • Jan. 5, 2020
Making matters worse, in 2013 Medicare removed “failure to thrive” — one of the hallmarks of late-stage dementia and what some physicians call frailty — and debility as primary diagnoses for hospice entry.
From Washington Post • May 4, 2018
Though great emaciation, debility, and hectic ensue on the indolent chronic processes, yet the disease usually assumes all the characters of the acute type before terminating fatally.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
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.
