as in demoralizing
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as in weakening
to diminish the physical strength of
the heart surgery debilitated the college athlete beyond his worst fears
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of debilitating
Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
When the cost of that effort became debilitating, vulnerability was prescribed as relief, without the transfer of any real power.
—Kelly Ehlers, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Apr. 2026
Shingles pain can be debilitating for days or weeks, and an infection can have long-lasting effects.
—Ashley Milne-Tyte, NPR, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debilitating
Adjective
Researchers don’t know whether ADHD drugs actually protect against the underlying causes of more debilitating brain diseases.
—Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
When the cost of that effort became debilitating, vulnerability was prescribed as relief, without the transfer of any real power.
—Kelly Ehlers, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
Wildly out of his depth and battling the debilitating symptoms of a late-stage brain tumor, his grasp on reality becomes increasingly precarious.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Apr. 2026
Shingles pain can be debilitating for days or weeks, and an infection can have long-lasting effects.
—Ashley Milne-Tyte, NPR, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debilitating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debilitating
Adjective
-
By the time Ambassador Martin authorized an evacuation, the only way out—since Martin had vetoed a proposal to put refugees on freighters and take them down the Saigon River to the coast (too demoralizing a spectacle)—was by helicopter.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
After the traditionally incredibly dominant US basketball team finished third at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the demoralizing loss forced the best ballers in the country to get serious and learn to work together.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
However, the brand has seen month-on-month declines in sales since September 2025, pointing to weakening momentum in its core NEV lineup.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Apr. 2026
-
However, some Democrats warn against weakening their candidates when facing a Republican Party that’s flush with cash.—
Leah Askarinam,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
While even beauty sales are softening, that impulse hasn’t disappeared.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
9 Apr. 2026
-
They are best suited for improving skin texture, softening fine lines and enhancing product absorption, allowing serums and treatments to penetrate more effectively.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But the most mentally fatiguing aspect, the work found, was having to constantly supervise the AI tools, with some employees overseeing multiple AI agents performing different tasks at the same time.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
12 Mar. 2026
-
My friend was in course of opening up his country house unassisted, and after a fatiguing day discovered that the only practical bed was a child’s affair— long enough but scarcely wider than a crib.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Pernes just couldn’t bring themselves to close the store, at least not without exhausting every other option first.—
Nathan Pilling,
Kansas City Star,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Both countries aim to counter cheap, high-volume threats without exhausting high-value interceptors.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But the growth was slightly slower than economists expected, and a measure of prices accelerated at its fastest pace since 2022 in a potentially discouraging signal for inflation.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Both hosts often wept as Guthrie described her emotional journey through the increasingly discouraging investigation into her mother’s whereabouts.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
American greatness isn’t achieved by wasting money on a bloated military budget.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
13 Apr. 2026
-
These layers don’t work seamlessly, wasting energy at every boundary.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debilitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debilitating. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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