debility

de·bil·i·ty

noun \di-ˈbi-lə-tē, dē-\

plural de·bil·i·ties

Definition of DEBILITY

: weakness, infirmity

Examples of DEBILITY

1. The disease leads to debility but rarely kills.
2. the debilities of elderly people

Origin of DEBILITY

Middle English debilite, from Middle French debilité, from Latin debilitat-, debilitas, from debilis, from de- de- + -bilis; akin to Sanskrit bala strength

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to DEBILITY

Synonyms

asthenia, debilitation, weakness, delicacy, enervation, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, fragility, frailness, frailty, infirmity, languidness, languor, listlessness, lowness, wimpiness

Antonyms

hardihood, hardiness, robustness, strength, vigor

Related Words

decay, decrepitude; breakdown, collapse, prostration; exhaustion, fatigue, lassitude, weariness; defenselessness, helplessness, impotence, impuissance, powerlessness; effeteness, softness, tenderness; disablement, incapacitation, invalidism; damage, harm, hurt, impairment, injury

Near Antonyms

energy, vitality; brawniness, fitness, heftiness, huskiness, lustiness, muscularity, virility; hardness, ruggedness, stoutness, sturdiness, toughness; health, healthiness, soundness, wellness

Rhymes with DEBILITY

ability, agility, anility, civility, docility, ductility, facility, fertility, fragility, futility, gentility, gracility, hostility, humility, lability, mobility, motility, nobility, nubility, scurrility, sectility, servility, stability, sterility, suability, tactility, utility, vagility, virility

de·bil·i·ty

noun \di-ˈbil-ət-ē\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; de·bil·i·ties

Medical Definition of DEBILITY

: the quality or state of being weak, feeble, or infirm; especially : physical weakness