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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The video evidence also appears to undermine elements of the government’s narrative of what happened.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
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Environmental and labor leaders say the pause is costing thousands of jobs and undermining energy independence.—
Carolyn Gusoff,
CBS News,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With some estimates putting wave heights as much as 35 feet, weakened hatch covers would have been vulnerable to such waves.—
Stephen J. Beard,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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The years of horrific violence have weakened Sudan, plunging its institutions into chaos and making its population more vulnerable and poorer.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Even seasoned travelers underestimate how quickly streaming and Bluetooth drain a phone or tablet at 35,000 feet.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
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Investments in controlling invasive species have led to a 75 percent reduction in the area overtaken by melaleuca, a particularly thirsty tree species introduced in the river of grass near the turn of the 20th century to help drain it.—
Amy Green,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The seasonal shift to cheaper winter-blend gasoline could help offset cost increases related to the refinery fire, softening the impact for drivers.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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The seat is made of high-density foam that softens with use and has a supportive spring underpinning.—
Shea Simmons,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The team concentrated on stars that had recently entered the post-main sequence phase, having exhausted their hydrogen, and identified just 130 planets and planet candidates orbiting nearby – 33 of which had not been detected before.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Nov. 2025
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Despite these real dangers, our law enforcement shows incredible restraint in exhausting all options before force is escalated.—
James Hill,
ABC News,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But waste diversion rates — the amount of garbage being recycled instead of dumped in landfills — remain stubbornly low.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
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So some of that fancy technology is going to waste.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The former slingshots between harmony and hysteria; the latter petrifies its beauty under a haze of ashy gray powder.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
28 Nov. 2025
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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
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 11 Jan. 2026.
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