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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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History suggests the move may prove counterproductive, undermining concrete American interests in the name of rushing into a speculative new extractive frontier.—
Time,
Time,
17 June 2025
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In fact, May data shows rents in Connecticut have now fallen for the first time in years, undermining the idea that these tools are the problem.—
Jim Amann,
Hartford Courant,
17 June 2025
Verb
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Since then, a series of shifts has reshaped the Middle East and weakened Iran and its proxies, the war in Gaza, Israel's decimation of the leadership of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the collapse of the Syrian regime, and now Israel's surprise attack.—
/ CBS News,
CBS News,
15 June 2025
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Should the economy unexpectedly weaken, larger and sooner cuts are possible.—
Simon Moore,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
Verb
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The funds were drained from platform wallets into addresses bearing anti-government messages explicitly referencing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, pointing to a politically motivated cyberattack, Elliptic said.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
18 June 2025
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Soak rice for 30 minutes or overnight, then drain before cooking to increase arsenic loss further.—
Laura Schober,
Health,
18 June 2025
Verb
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The experience of caring for another living creature has been found to soften inmates’ anger, allowing some to experience warmth and affection for the first time in their lives.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
8 June 2025
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In European competition, Postecoglou softened his principles and played functional football.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
7 June 2025
Verb
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In the new workplace, don’t exhaust yourself to win over everyone.—
Naira Velumyan,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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If Southern California Edison equipment is found to have sparked the blaze on Jan. 7, as dozens of lawsuits allege, the damage claims could quickly exhaust the state’s $21-billion wildfire fund.—
Melody Petersen,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2025
Verb
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And the state should do some of the work early by vetting the growing list of reading programs being offered to districts, so millions more dollars aren’t wasted on curricula and materials that don’t move reading scores.—
Denise Amos,
Mercury News,
18 June 2025
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There’s little question that some of the money Washington spent in recent years on foreign aid was wasted or devoted to pet ideological causes.—
Andrew Tisch,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Verb
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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
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He was petrified by the thought of dying of cancer or some other disease whose senselessness disgusted him.—
Ian Buruma,
The New Yorker,
6 Jan. 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 22 Jun. 2025.
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