debilitated 1 of 2

adjective

as in weak
lacking bodily strength the debilitated prisoners could barely stand

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debilitated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of debilitate
as in weakened
to diminish the physical strength of the heart surgery debilitated the college athlete beyond his worst fears

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of debilitated
Verb
In Desert Storm, the short duration of ground operations was made possible by an air campaign that debilitated Iraq’s entire military establishment. — David A. Deptula, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 Destruction of their livelihoods and more — they are debilitated. — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026 Israel quickly debilitated Iran’s air defenses and caused significant damage to Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026 The war, the latest and most extensive Israel offensive in the Gaza Strip, has greatly debilitated Hamas. — Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026 Amid an unprecedented cold snap in the Upper Florida Keys, six juvenile green sea turtles were discovered debilitated by frigid waters and are now undergoing intensive care at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon. — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debilitated
  1. weak
  2. weakened
  3. feeble
  4. softened
  5. frail
  6. exhausted
  7. disabled
  8. tired
Adjective
  • Last fall, major lenders reported that business was booming despite a sluggish art market, arguing that collectors preferred borrowing against valuable works rather than selling into weaker conditions.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2026
  • Goods consumption is weak, while services consumption is outperforming, running above headline GDP growth, Liao said.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 29 July 2026
Definition of weak
Verb
  • Researchers, educators, and policymakers questioned whether broadcasting encouraged juvenile delinquency, weakened family relationships, and gave governments and media organizations unprecedented influence over public opinion.
    — Michael Edmondson, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Hochul, who weakened the state’s climate goals and signed off on new gas pipelines, is again an example.
    — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of weakened
Adjective
  • Europe was economically too feeble and politically too fragmented to resist this Coca-Colonization.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
  • Using Neanderthal cranium shapes to estimate specific brain regions’ volume, some investigators claimed to see signs of a mind with feeble linguistic abilities, poor executive function and an unremarkable memory.
    — Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 20 July 2026
Definition of feeble
Verb
  • But as a candidate for governor, Hong had softened her tone while not disavowing her past statements.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • In recent years, critical attitudes towards Terrordome, which was Onwurah’s debut, have softened, with institutions programming the title as part of retrospectives and championing it as a seminal example of afrofuritist filmmaking.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 29 July 2026
Definition of softened
Adjective
  • Perennially frail, sick, and gaunt, the ambient guitar composer had devoted his life to a sprawling catalog, some 40 albums wide, that resembles a matchstick model of paradise.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 30 July 2026
  • The twenty-minute conversation about whether that procedure serves a frail 84-year-old is not.
    — Sachin H. Jain, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of frail
Verb
  • Players were exhausted after nearly two years of shifting restrictions and the stress of constantly facing the possibility of solitary confinement in a foreign city.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 25 July 2026
  • While the use of subpoena power against journalists has always been highly controversial, officials in past administrations sometimes justified it by arguing it was used as a last resort, after other investigative avenues were exhausted.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
Definition of exhausted
Adjective
  • Too many products slap the label on without including disabled people anywhere in development or testing, treating accessibility as an add-on rather than a design requirement.
    — Keely Cat-Wells, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • When scientists temporarily disabled mole-rats’ olfactory sensory neurons with chemicals, the aggression towards strangers disappeared.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026
Definition of disabled
Verb
  • Fellow striker Ricardo Pepi tired out the Australian back line all day.
    — Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 20 June 2026
  • Plus, their fabric and fill are less likely to accrue that ever-darkening yellowish stain that tired goose down pillows acquire over time, thanks to sweat, oils, lotion residues, etc.
    — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 24 Oct. 2025
Definition of tired

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Cite this Entry

“Debilitated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debilitated. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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