debilitating

adjective

de·​bil·​i·​tat·​ing di-ˈbi-lə-ˌtā-tiŋ 

dē-

: causing serious impairment of strength or ability to function

debilitating pain

a debilitating fear of public speaking

a debilitating illness

Thirty years have passed since a vaccine wiped out polio, but some of those who conquered the debilitating disease as children are now experiencing symptoms that seem all too familiar.

—Fay Knicely

Several of these drugs are now in clinical testing to determine whether they can reduce or eliminate the debilitating nausea suffered by cancer patients on chemotherapy.

—Ron Cowen

debilitatingly adverb

Debilitatingly asthmatic as a child, Scarfe developed his talent while amusing himself and acquired the cynicism for authority that empowers his … drawings and sculpture during many frightening encounters with medical incompetence.

—Ray Olson

Did you know?

Debilitating describes things that cause serious impairment of strength or ability to function. The word appears in both medical and general contexts; someone can suffer from debilitating nausea or debilitating stage fright. An adjective that takes the form of a verb, debilitating dates to the mid-17th century, making it the youngest of a trio: its source, the verb debilitate ("to impair the strength of"), dates to the early 16th century, and the noun debility ("weakness, infirmity") has been in use since the 15th century. All come from the Latin word for "weak," debilis. Polyglots may recognize the influence of debilis in words from Spanish, Russian, Czech, Turkish, Danish, and many other languages as well.

Examples of debilitating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Conditions such as fibromyalgia, migraines, and chronic back pain often involve emotional suffering that can be more debilitating than the physical sensation. —New Atlas, 11 July 2025

Alzheimer’s and dementia of all kinds, as well as slow-moving but debilitating and painful diseases like multiple sclerosis, ALS and Parkinson’s, take years to exact their vicious tolls, and thus do not make the compassionate cut. —Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 8 July 2025

For another, a one-and-done remedy for the condition’s most debilitating manifestations is, quite simply, a phantom goal. —Caren Zucker, The Atlantic, 6 July 2025

The feat was deemed so inspiring that an adaptation of The Salt Path, starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, released in U.K. theaters earlier this year and depicted Moth’s diagnosis of a debilitating and terminal neurological illness that Winn said was improved by the expedition. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 7 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for debilitating

• accelerating
• accentuating
• accommodating
• accumulating
• adjudicating
• administrating
• affiliating
• agglutinating
• alienating
• alleviating
• amalgamating
• ameliorating

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