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
Relevance
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
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 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
-
Kirk had disappeared from their feeds, and Erika Kirk had gone viral for the wrong reasons—taking the stage at her husband’s memorial service amid pyrotechnics and attempting her own campus tour, undermining her image as a Christian trad wife whose priorities were her family and her home.
-
Over his 18-year tenure at the Fed, Greenspan embodied the omnipotent technocrat — a legacy critics say was fatally undermined by his failure to spot the 2008 housing bubble.
Verb
-
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images BEIJING — China’s consumer spending slowdown persisted in June, with growth during one of the country’s largest online shopping festivals weakening sharply from a year earlier.
-
All three of those protagonists have been weakened in their roles by what has gone on.
Verb
-
The hotel’s wellness center offers Ayurvedic herbal scrubs, Reiki, hydrotherapy, lymphatic draining massages, colonics and acupuncture.
-
Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Verb
-
Speaking of glow, Medicube is also marking down their milky toner, which helps boost radiance, soften skin, and increase hydration.
-
Grandchildren tend to soften even the most complicated family disputes.
Verb
-
Her blood loss was reportedly so severe that the hospital exhausted its supply of her blood type during treatment.
-
Jones countered with more than $25 million from his own family fortune, fueling a contest that left both candidates bruised and voters exhausted.
Verb
-
True to the resourceful roots of Southern and Black cuisine, Chef Caldwell ensures nothing goes to waste in his kitchen.
-
Banana peels are packed with nutrients that go to waste when simply tossed in the trash.
Verb
-
The first film follows a group of French high-school students who travel to Naples on a school trip to discover the ruins of Pompeii and the bodies petrified by Vesuvius.
-
Johansson plays her with a tough edge to match her Queens accent, but Hester is clearly petrified by this perfect storm of ugly events.
Verb
-
The impact of that shocking final scene is sufficient to send viewers out feeling enervated after what’s been a pretty desultory final act.
-
Campbell, the North Carolina folk singer, describes an enervating process marked by back-and-forth exchanges and lots of waiting.
Cite this Entry
“Devitalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devitalize. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
