1
as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
overuse has devitalized many a once-striking figure of speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to weaken
to diminish the physical strength of
she was devitalized by the infection
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of devitalize
This can devitalize the plant to the point of it starting to die back.
—
oregonlive, 5 Feb. 2023
Miller’s writing début may have been precipitated by her assault, but the final work devitalizes its horrific beginnings.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2019
His lip was completely destroyed with multiple linear lacerations, jagged lacerations, devitalized tissue, denervated tissue with a 12 cm laceration in multiple pieces of the entire left upper lift, the mucosal surface, and orbicularis.
—Edmund H. Mahony, courant.com, 1 June 2017
oregonlive, 5 Feb. 2023
Miller’s writing début may have been precipitated by her assault, but the final work devitalizes its horrific beginnings.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2019
His lip was completely destroyed with multiple linear lacerations, jagged lacerations, devitalized tissue, denervated tissue with a 12 cm laceration in multiple pieces of the entire left upper lift, the mucosal surface, and orbicularis.
—Edmund H. Mahony, courant.com, 1 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devitalize
Verb
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Avoid Common Mistakes Despite the benefits of catch-up contributions, many individuals make avoidable errors that undermine their effectiveness.—
True Tamplin,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
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The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn't agree with them and undermine judicial independence.—
Matthew Robinson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 July 2025
Verb
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This weakens their ability to educate, create, and grow.—
Miguel Cardona,
Time,
21 July 2025
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This could help verify recent findings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) that suggest this strange force is actually weakening over time.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
20 July 2025
Verb
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Several of Yazan’s four older siblings also looked thin and drained.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Chicago Tribune,
25 July 2025
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The answer is to stop dating men who drain your brilliance, and to start dating as the woman who chooses herself first.—
Ximena Araya-Fischel,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
Verb
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By then, Trump had softened his tariff stance and the markets had rebounded accordingly.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 July 2025
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On the campaign trail, the president spent time courting faith leaders throughout the country, often refusing to soften his language in those venues as well.—
Lalee Ibssa,
ABC News,
14 July 2025
Verb
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Ferrell, who contended that their father wanted to be cremated, ultimately agreed to a settlement, reportedly after exhausting nearly $100,000 in legal fees and running out of funds to continue the fight.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
23 July 2025
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The goal is to exhaust the activist organization’s resources and force them to shut down.—
Marianne Krasny,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Verb
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Update your profile headline to include your target client Your LinkedIn headline is so important and most people waste on job titles.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
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Whole departments can get stuck defending past decisions because admitting a mistake feels worse than wasting more money.—
JJ Rosen,
The Tennessean,
24 July 2025
Verb
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So don’t go around being petrified of having your esophagus rupture someday.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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Nearly every day brings a fresh breach of what were once thought to be the rules, moves that have thrilled his insurgent supporters and petrified his nervous opponents.—
Peter Baker,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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This relationship, when successful, tends to enervate mediating institutions that thwart the immediate desires of both the populist leader and the public.—
Cameron Hilditch,
National Review,
28 Feb. 2021
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The saving grace of this often enervating thriller is that Doscher grants time for his actors to build character and intimacy, and both Pinto and Odom offer warm, affectingly natural performances as two people facing the end of their world.—
Teo Bugbee,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Devitalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devitalize. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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