enfeeble
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has enfeebledperfect 3rd person singular
-
have enfeebledperfect
-
has been enfeeblingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
are enfeeblingprogressive
-
is enfeeblingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
have been enfeeblingperfect progressive
-
enfeeblessingular 3rd person
-
am enfeeblingprogressive 1st person singular
-
enfeeblingparticiple
Past
-
had enfeebledperfect
-
had been enfeeblingperfect progressive
-
was enfeeblingprogressive singular
-
enfeebledparticiple
-
were enfeeblingprogressive plural
-
enfeebledsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of enfeeble
1300–50; Middle English enfeblen < Old French enfeblir. See en- 1, feeble
Explanation
To enfeeble is to make someone or something very weak or fragile. Your governor's budget cuts might enfeeble the state's public school system. If an illness weakens you — makes you feel frail and shaky — it enfeebles you. Aging enfeebles us, and the lack of Vitamin D in the winter also enfeebles many people. You can also say that making it harder for people to vote enfeebles the democratic process. The verb enfeeble combines the prefix en-, "cause to be," with feeble, with its Latin root flebilis, "that is to be wept over."
Vocabulary lists containing enfeeble
President Obama's Farewell Address
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week In Words: August 30–September 4, 2020
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Dawn
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Partisanship, the first president observed, “serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026
In a letter to Dr. Gabadadze and other deans, they wrote that they worried about setting “a precedent, completely lacking in due process, that could undermine faculty freedoms and correspondingly enfeeble proven pedagogic practices.”
From New York Times • Oct. 3, 2022
Their goal is to blunt and enfeeble criticism and distract from its truthfulness.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2022
It will forever be the least dangerous branch, but that is no reason to enfeeble it further.
From Slate • Oct. 11, 2018
It serves always," he tells them, "to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration.
From Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume II (of 2) Including, Among Other Important Matters, Full Particulars of the Mysterious Death of the Princess Charlotte by Hamilton, Lady Anne
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.
