Word of the Day

: July 3, 2011

enervate

verb EN-er-vayt

What It Means

1 : to reduce the mental or moral vigor of

2 : to lessen the vitality or strength of

enervate in Context

Dehydration and prolonged exposure to the sun had enervated the shipwrecked crew, leaving them almost too weak to hail the passing vessel.

"This is a life-saving practice because it greatly helps reduce the stress and tension that both wears our physical organism and enervates our energies, which is our life force and vitality." -- From an article by Lama Surya Das on The Huffington Post, June 4, 2011

Did You Know?

"Enervate" is a word that some people use without really knowing what it means. They seem to believe that because "enervate" looks a little bit like "energize" and "invigorate" it must share their meaning -- but it is actually their antonym. "Enervate" comes from the Latin word "enervare," which was formed from the prefix "e-," meaning "out of," and "-nervare" (from "nervus," meaning "sinew or nerve"). So, etymologically at least, someone who is enervated is "out of nerve."