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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One bad manager or leader can, in but a few months, undermine a team with decades of collective service to the organization.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
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Whatever desire the audience might have to root for Kerr is undermined by his mounting failures in the ring and his growing friction with Dawn.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But with her coalition prospects in doubt, and the party weakened by scandal and voter frustration, her route to Japan’s top job is far from assured.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Studies have found that, in some instances, background noise can weaken territorial responses in males.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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González, not known as a shooter when the Celtics drafted him, drained one of two 3-point attempts.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Most indoor plants are watered from the top until the water drains from the pot through the drainage holes.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Yet analysts expect her stance on visits to the Yasukuni shrine will soften in office.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Sorbitol pulls water into your colon to soften stools.—
Julie Marks,
Verywell Health,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Instead of gradually boiling into insanity, the film hits fever pitch hallucinations right away and quickly exhausts itself attempting to keep pace.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Vacherot won the next two points, exhausting Djokovic in a rally to get to 40-Ad.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Families are struggling with rising costs while City Hall wastes millions.—
Miami Herald Staff,
Miami Herald,
8 Oct. 2025
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This team is too talented and the defense is too good to waste a season waiting for the play caller to develop.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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You'll be petrified by the violence inflicted upon boys who only wanted a chance to pull their families out of financial duress and have an opportunity at a comfortable life afforded to most of us sitting in our seats.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
The Enquirer,
13 Sep. 2025
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The only issue is his mother Laura (Wright), a woman who has lost a child once before and is petrified of a repeat.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some of these values—such as a disciplined commitment to physical fitness—are good and, in my opinion, necessary correctives to the enervating distractions of 21st-century living.—
Dan Brooks,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 2025
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Bears do not truly hibernate, but instead enervate, or enter a state of torpor, in their dens.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Devitalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devitalize. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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