as in to weaken
to diminish the physical strength of
the heart surgery debilitated the college athlete beyond his worst fears
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in deterioration
a gradual sinking and wasting away of mind or body
the debilitation that all the prisoners of war had experienced during their captivity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weakness
the quality or state of lacking physical strength or vigor
attributed the patient's general debilitation to an iron deficiency
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of debilitate
Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 4 Feb. 2026
And people with debilitating conditions aren’t necessarily expecting a miracle drug, said the anonymous Reddit user.
—Sara Talpos — Undark, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
Gibson was in and out of doctors’ offices for the next many months without a formal diagnosis — all while continuing to experience her painful and debilitating symptoms.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
Successful companies, Swedish celebrities and entrepreneurs fled to free economies across the world to escape debilitating taxes and regulations.
—William Z. Fox, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debilitate
Verb
This phase can last for several days and can be debilitating, with vomiting and dry heaving up to five times an hour and requiring emergency room visits.
—Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 4 Feb. 2026
And people with debilitating conditions aren’t necessarily expecting a miracle drug, said the anonymous Reddit user.
—Sara Talpos — Undark, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
Gibson was in and out of doctors’ offices for the next many months without a formal diagnosis — all while continuing to experience her painful and debilitating symptoms.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
Successful companies, Swedish celebrities and entrepreneurs fled to free economies across the world to escape debilitating taxes and regulations.
—William Z. Fox, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debilitate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debilitate
Verb
-
Getty Images Since the June strikes, Iran’s rulers have been weakened by street protests, suppressed at a cost of thousands of lives, against a cost-of-living crisis driven in part by international sanctions that have strangled the country’s oil income.—
Max Burman,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Some purchasers had issues with the hook-and-loop straps weakening quickly.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Avalanches are rapid, massive slides of snow, ice, rock and soil that can be caused by storms, earthquakes or snowpack deterioration.—
Ramon Padilla,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
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With Amazon Web Services (AWS), advertising and logistics automation continuing to scale, Amazon’s recent weakness appears to reflect sentiment fatigue rather than a deterioration in business quality.—
Tony Zhang,
CNBC,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But some analysts say Iran's unprecedented weakness at home could diminish the flexibility of its country's leadership to make the kinds of compromises necessary for a deal.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
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But ask anyone who knows him about Kuechly’s weaknesses, and the first thing that might come up is his deflection of praise.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Indoor plants soften hard edges, brighten dim corners, and bring a bit of the outdoors inside.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
17 Feb. 2026
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And, companies with higher all-in sustaining costs are far more vulnerable if silver prices soften again.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Most officials are expecting slowing hiring coupled with a low level of layoffs that, rather than suggesting a material weakening, point more to stabilization.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
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But a weakening of the job market, on the other hand, could push it to resume cuts more quickly.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Combining heavy amounts of alcohol on top of exhaustion and a lack of food, Sullivan blacked out.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
16 Feb. 2026
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In Worcester, which lay more than 40 miles from the Charlestown line, a parched and dusty rider arrived at the square in front of the church, where his horse collapsed in exhaustion.—
Kostya Kennedy,
Time,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In Will There Ever Be Another You, the main character struggles with an illness similar to long COVID, descending into a state of debility and psychosis as readers experience the chaos of her unraveling life.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
26 Sep. 2025
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The shadow of death and debility haunted American women throughout the nineteenth century.—
Jenny Noyce,
JSTOR Daily,
28 June 2024
Noun
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Some of those benefits are reduction in swelling and inflammation, pain relief, lowering of stress levels and fatigue.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
14 Feb. 2026
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Valvular heart disease, in which one more of the heart's valves don't function properly, can make the heart work harder and, over time, lead to conditions like chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debilitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debilitate. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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