as in weakening
to diminish the physical strength of
the heart surgery debilitated the college athlete beyond his worst fears
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in demoralizing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of debilitating
Kristina Mani, The Conversation, 23 Sep. 2025
Measles, mumps and other vaccine-preventable diseases can cause debilitating and permanent damage.
—Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
Taylor Lonner, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
Tamura, who started football at age 6 and played through high school, reported having frequent, debilitating headaches as an adult.
—Alana Semuels, Time, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debilitating
Verb
Demanding political litmus tests The third tactic may be the most debilitating within the military itself.
—Kristina Mani, The Conversation, 23 Sep. 2025
Measles, mumps and other vaccine-preventable diseases can cause debilitating and permanent damage.
—Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
These results mean that by tracking the capsule motion and projecting it on a headset for the astronauts inside, our team may be able to reduce debilitating motion sickness by roughly half.
—Taylor Lonner, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
Tamura, who started football at age 6 and played through high school, reported having frequent, debilitating headaches as an adult.
—Alana Semuels, Time, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debilitating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debilitating
Verb
-
Ocean acidification is weakening the teeth of sharks.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The free-trade agenda sought to deregulate the labor market and prioritize market efficiency, strengthening the hands of employers and severely weakening union and social movements, as anti-free traders had predicted.—
Dónal Gill,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Jays were able to put their demoralizing, 18-inning loss the night before behind them as the bats came back to life.—
Kendall Capps,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The work—in a way, a series of encounters with random elements of one-click consumerism, including coloring books and marketing guides for dentists—is tedious, repetitive, and demoralizing.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Constipation can occur with iron supplements by affecting gut bacteria and pulling stool-softening water from your colon.—
Emmanuella Ogbonna,
Health,
31 Oct. 2025
-
It’s attracted a ton of speculation that maybe, just maybe, Netflix is finally softening its stance on putting movies into theaters.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Long periods of socializing, like a weeklong conference, can feel far more draining than shorter events.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
28 Oct. 2025
-
By aligning strategic work with those rhythms, productivity can feel more natural and less draining.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In today’s housing market, even the lucky ones often face exhausting ordeals and need to stretch their budgets to land a home.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Betelgeuse, formally known as Alpha Orionis, will one day end its life in a spectacular supernova explosion upon exhausting the last of its fuel, which could be as bright as the full moon.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Grand Luna has an unprecedented high-frequency extension that goes as high as 30kHz, while remaining smooth, non-fatiguing, and eliminating harshness or sibilance thanks to Campfire’s acoustic engineering.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The biggest mistake that girls make when going into the interview portion of the pageant, Alverson says, is wasting their interview time on unnecessary, pandering statements.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
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Testing the market by pricing high is becoming a losing and time-wasting strategy.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Rams want to go into their bye week with a win after two straight years entering their off week coming off a discouraging loss.—
Adam Grosbard,
Oc Register,
18 Oct. 2025
-
This will be a discouraging experience for you.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debilitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debilitating. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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