as in weakness
the quality or state of lacking physical strength or vigor
our grandmother's debility is due in large part to her advanced age
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Recent Examples of debility
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
The shadow of death and debility haunted American women throughout the nineteenth century.
—Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024
President Biden’s troubles — lingering inflation, wars and rumors of wars, his debility — could have benefited any Republican.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
As with fibroids, hormonal treatments and surgical options can help, though scarring and changes in the nervous system’s threshold for perceiving pain (eventually creating the experience of pain even in the absence of a stimulus) can create long-term debilities.
—Laura Kolbe, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024
In Amy Schumer’s comedy special Emergency Contact, the comedian talks about developing hyperemesis gravidarum, a potentially life-threatening condition that causes extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting and might lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and debility.
—Brianna Holt, Vogue, 7 July 2023
Given their ages and debilities, these soldiers had been deemed unfit for active service.
—David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven widespread debility, whether a result of distress or the virus itself, compounded in either case by political abandonment and public health failures.
—Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 8 Dec. 2022
At 40, Baudelaire was a shadow of his former self, crushed by unrepayable debts, suffering the aftereffects of a seemingly minor stroke, and facing the onset of syphilitic debility.
—Washington Post, 11 May 2022
Brittney Melton, NPR, 26 Sep. 2025
The shadow of death and debility haunted American women throughout the nineteenth century.
—Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024
President Biden’s troubles — lingering inflation, wars and rumors of wars, his debility — could have benefited any Republican.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
As with fibroids, hormonal treatments and surgical options can help, though scarring and changes in the nervous system’s threshold for perceiving pain (eventually creating the experience of pain even in the absence of a stimulus) can create long-term debilities.
—Laura Kolbe, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024
In Amy Schumer’s comedy special Emergency Contact, the comedian talks about developing hyperemesis gravidarum, a potentially life-threatening condition that causes extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting and might lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and debility.
—Brianna Holt, Vogue, 7 July 2023
Given their ages and debilities, these soldiers had been deemed unfit for active service.
—David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven widespread debility, whether a result of distress or the virus itself, compounded in either case by political abandonment and public health failures.
—Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 8 Dec. 2022
At 40, Baudelaire was a shadow of his former self, crushed by unrepayable debts, suffering the aftereffects of a seemingly minor stroke, and facing the onset of syphilitic debility.
—Washington Post, 11 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debility
Noun
-
The strengths and weaknesses are always shown in a game like this.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Jan. 2026
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According to the Mayo Clinic, CMS is caused by a gene change that results in muscle weakness, which worsens with physical activity.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There are no speakers in the songs of MJ Lenderman other than MJ Lenderman, whose diffidence and exhaustion are in all-too-perfect lockstep with the psychic frustrations of his listeners.—
Armin Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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This round of protests feels different from prior ones because of a sense of frustration and exhaustion among people in Iran, said Dina Esfandiary, Middle East lead for Bloomberg Economics.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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All of that adds up to headaches, fatigue and body aches that last longer.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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Indeed, exercise in general improves fatigue, energy, and vitality, according to research, so getting in some movement first thing in the morning can do all that.—
Danielle Zickl,
Outside,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debility. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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