Synonyms of debility

debility

noun

di-ˈbi-lə-tē 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• weakness
• exhaustion
• fatigue
• feebleness
• debilitation
• infirmity
• enervation
• faintness
• asthenia
• languor
• enfeeblement
• impairment
• injury
• frailty
• lowness
• fragility
• listlessness
• decay
• disablement
• languidness
• frailness
• tenderness
• decrepitude
• prostration
• wimpiness
• breakdown
• damage
• impotence
• helplessness
• delicacy
• lassitude
• weariness
• powerlessness
• collapse
• invalidism
• softness
• incapacitation
• harm
• hurt
• defenselessness
• impuissance
• effeteness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strength
• vigor
• hardiness
• vitality
• robustness
• hardihood
• energy
• virility
• fitness
• health
• muscularity
• huskiness
• hardness
• toughness
• stoutness
• sturdiness
• lustiness
• ruggedness
• wellness
• soundness
• brawniness
• healthiness
• heftiness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of debility

In recent years, white supremacists have embraced the concept of lactose intolerance as a distinguishing debility of nonwhite people. — Hilary Smith, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026

And, when pets suffered from cancer or heart failure or debility, conversations about what to do next were emotional but often straightforward. — Sunita Puri, New Yorker, 6 June 2026

His trajectory is one of softening, from the swaggering knight of the opening to the irrepressible lover of the second act to his final physical debility. — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2026

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

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