Debilitate
To make someone or something weaker or less able to function; to sap strength or vitality.
verbDebilitate
To make someone or something weaker or less able to function; to sap strength or vitality.
verbImagine This
Imagine a once-active marathon runner who contracts a chronic illness. Each day, their energy drains a little more, and tasks that used to be easy—standing, walking, training—become a struggle.
Sounds Like
dih-BIL-ih-teyt
Looks Like
Rooted in the debil- stem meaning weak; visually related to words like disable and debility.
Remember This
Debility and debilitation are related nouns; the root debil- means weak. The word appears in medical and formal contexts.
Other Forms
Connect With
weaken, enfeeble, enervate, impair, incapacitate
Note
Used with people or things that are weakened by disease, fatigue, or stress. Not interchangeable with 'disable' in every context; debilitate emphasizes gradual weakening rather than a sudden incapacity.
Study Deeper
- The chemotherapy treatment debilitated the patient, leaving them too weak to walk across the room.
- The long drought debilitated the crops, reducing yields and threatening the harvest.
From Latin debilitat- 'a weakening', from debilis 'weak' + -atus; adopted into Old French, then English; first used in English in the 14th century.
DE-BIL-uh-tate: Imagine a huge medical BILL draining your energy; every bill makes you weaker, so you de-bilitate.
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Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Enervate
verbTo cause someone to feel drained of energy or vitality; to weaken or reduce strength or stamina.
Abandon
verbTo give up completely, to desert or leave behind, or to relinquish a claim, plan, or responsibility.
Abate
verbTo decrease in amount or intensity; to reduce or end something.
Abolish
verbTo formally end or repeal a system, practice, or institution; to officially put an end to something established.
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verbTo shorten (a text, speech, or other work) by omitting parts; to condense.
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verbTo depart secretly or flee, especially to avoid detection or arrest.