enervate
Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have enervatedperfect
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has enervatedperfect 3rd person singular
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are enervatingprogressive
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have been enervatingperfect progressive
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has been enervatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am enervatingprogressive 1st person singular
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is enervatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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enervatingparticiple
-
enervatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had enervatedperfect
-
had been enervatingperfect progressive
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were enervatingprogressive plural
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was enervatingprogressive singular
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enervatedparticiple
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enervatedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of enervate
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin ēnervātus “weakened” (past participle of ēnervāre “to weaken”), equivalent to ē- “from, out of” + nerv(us) “sinew” + -ātus adjective suffix; see origin at e- 1, nerve, -ate 1; compare Anglo-French enervir, French énerver
Explanation
To enervate is to weaken, wear down, or even bum out. Although a three-hour lecture on the history of socks might thrill someone, it would enervate most people. So would a too-long soak in a hot tub. With your parents. Trace enervate back far enough and you'll discover that it comes from the Latin enervare which means basically “to cut the sinew” or “to cause to be cut from the muscle.” That would certainly weaken someone. These days, there’s no need for violence. To enervate someone is to sap their energy, like by reading your ex all the love letters your new sweetheart wrote you. When something enervates you, it does more than get on your nerves; it brings you down.
Vocabulary lists containing enervate
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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.
Like many community newsrooms around the country, the Truth Teller is a ghost paper owned by a conglomerate called Enervate.
From Salon • Sep. 4, 2025
The Truth Teller is a stand-in for hundreds of regional publications swallowed by companies like Enervate.
From Salon • Sep. 4, 2025
In the new series, Dunder Mifflin, the office in “The Office,” has been absorbed into a company called Enervate, which deals in office supplies, janitorial paper and local newspapers, “in order of quality.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025
Enervate, long she stood––a sculptur'd dread, 'Till waking sense dissolv'd amazement's chain; Then home, with timid haste, distracted fled, And sunk in dreadful agony of pain.
From Poetic Sketches by Gent, Thomas
A child of fragrant airs and sunny skies, Enervate with the South's soft luxuries, These icebergs burst upon me like a sense Newly received, revealing God anew.
From The Arctic Queen by Unknown
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.
