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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debility
Noun
  • The addition of shutdown closer Jhoan Duran has turned their bullpen from a weakness into a roster strength.
    Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The milestone marks a symbolic win for the blue-chip index, highlighting the market’s resilience despite tariff concerns and signs of weakness in the economy.
    Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The pain goes deeper than exhaustion.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Men tumble into each other, frantically fighting to get back up, while others faint from exhaustion.
    Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Debility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debility. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.

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