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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of debility
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
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
-
It could be argued that this trio of managers followed each other at United because their strengths answered the previous manager’s weaknesses.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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The weakness was most pronounced on the goods-producing side of the economy.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Making critical decisions from exhaustion, not vision.—
Yermys Pena,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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My Lebanese friends and business associates increasingly speak of exhaustion with conflict, hunger for economic progress, and today’s unprecedented opportunities.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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It’s always conducted in the blind, with protocols employed to avoid any undue influence, from pay-to-play to palate fatigue.—
Brad Japhe,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Lisa Healy, 29, from Toronto, Canada, battled decades of fatigue, weakness and low energy, which affected her mood and was often described as sadness.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debility. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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