en·er·vate
ˈe-nər-ˌvāt 
enervated; enervating
1
: to reduce the mental or moral vigor of
2
: to lessen the vitality or strength of
Examples of enervate in a Sentence
Verb
a lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul
the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards
Recent Examples on the Web
Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 28 Feb. 2021
The saving grace of this often enervating thriller is that Doscher grants time for his actors to build character and intimacy, and both Pinto and Odom offer warm, affectingly natural performances as two people facing the end of their world.
—Teo Bugbee, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2020
To a great extent, that reflects the endless, enervating nature of the Brexit debate.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2020
Jack’s enervating recovery in The Way Back is full of drab, predictable pathos instead of the stylized drama in Dawn of Justice.
—Armond White, National Review, 6 Mar. 2020
Perhaps the most intimate of these photographs presents her after a shower, wet and enervated, rubbing a cloth across her reflection in a mirror, as though the condensation were crud.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2020
Then again, enervating her supporters has been Madonna’s M.O. in recent years.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 3 July 2019
But the art which resists the slow sap of a chronic disease—which repairs frames enervated by lust, swollen by gluttony, or inflamed by wine . .
—Chris Pope, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2019
Such behavior is particularly enervating when the West aims to bring new countries into permanent and universal—that is, Western-style—guarantees of security and systems of relations.
—I. William Zartman, WSJ, 24 June 2018
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Verb
This relationship, when successful, tends to enervate mediating institutions that thwart the immediate desires of both the populist leader and the public.
—Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 28 Feb. 2021
The saving grace of this often enervating thriller is that Doscher grants time for his actors to build character and intimacy, and both Pinto and Odom offer warm, affectingly natural performances as two people facing the end of their world.
—Teo Bugbee, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2020
To a great extent, that reflects the endless, enervating nature of the Brexit debate.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2020
Jack’s enervating recovery in The Way Back is full of drab, predictable pathos instead of the stylized drama in Dawn of Justice.
—Armond White, National Review, 6 Mar. 2020
Perhaps the most intimate of these photographs presents her after a shower, wet and enervated, rubbing a cloth across her reflection in a mirror, as though the condensation were crud.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2020
Then again, enervating her supporters has been Madonna’s M.O. in recent years.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 3 July 2019
But the art which resists the slow sap of a chronic disease—which repairs frames enervated by lust, swollen by gluttony, or inflamed by wine . .
—Chris Pope, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2019
Such behavior is particularly enervating when the West aims to bring new countries into permanent and universal—that is, Western-style—guarantees of security and systems of relations.
—I. William Zartman, WSJ, 24 June 2018
Cite this Entry
“Enervate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enervate. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
enervate
transitive verb
en·er·vate
ˈen-ər-ˌvāt
enervated; enervating
1
obsolete
: to cut the nerves or tendons of
2
: to lessen the vitality or strength of
heat enervates people
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