as in demoralizing
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in weakening
to diminish the physical strength of
the heart surgery debilitated the college athlete beyond his worst fears
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 debilitating
Kelly Ehlers, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even mild cases of measles can be severe and debilitating.
—Doris Alvarez Cea, Florida Times-Union, 4 Feb. 2026
Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 30 Mar. 2026
After missing almost two full years with a debilitating back and then an ACL injury, Melton has been one of the Warriors’ most impactful players since returning in early December.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debilitating
Adjective
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
However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even mild cases of measles can be severe and debilitating.
—Doris Alvarez Cea, Florida Times-Union, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
The song is paired with an equally intimate music video where the singer is captured in a black-and-white silhouette that threatens to bleed into the unwanted gray zone that Troy says can be debilitating.
—Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 30 Mar. 2026
After missing almost two full years with a debilitating back and then an ACL injury, Melton has been one of the Warriors’ most impactful players since returning in early December.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debilitating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debilitating
Adjective
-
The Heat repeatedly allowed open shots and unchallenged forays to the basket in another demoralizing and disgraceful defensive display, one made all the worse by the fact the Heat is fighting for playoff seeding.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Nothing is more demoralizing for a team trying to regain its balance than having its outcome determined by the third inning.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Anthropic's showdown with the Pentagon this year left OpenAI looking like the bad guy, and just this week Bloomberg reported that demand is weakening for private shares of OpenAI in the secondary market.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
But those safeguards appear to be weakening.—
Jennifer Elias,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
3 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
-
The professor, who previously taught at Ferris State University in Michigan, acknowledged Denver’s softening apartment market, where vacancy is at its highest point since 2010.—
Matthew Geiger,
Denver Post,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Despite the rate of unemployment remaining low, the labor market has shown signs of softening.—
Domenico Montanaro,
NPR,
3 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
-
Both countries aim to counter cheap, high-volume threats without exhausting high-value interceptors.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Most people who reach out to Gahl do so after exhausting nearly every other option and cycling through multiple specialists and medical centers.—
Alexandra Sifferlin,
STAT,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Still, the latest uptick is a discouraging sign for house hunters as the spring buying season kicks off.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The resolution emphasized that Bouchat is wasting taxpayer money and said his failure to perform duties is slowing down the chamber.—
Britta Miller,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Apr. 2026
-
But after wasting a big opportunity in the fifth, the Angels broke through in the sixth.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debilitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debilitating. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
