Synonyms of enervate

enervate 1 of 2

verb

ˈe-nər-ˌvāt 

1

as in to undermine

to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality

a lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul

Synonyms & Similar Words

• undermine
• weaken
• exhaust
• drain
• deaden
• petrify
• dampen
• devitalize
• castrate
• desiccate
• dehydrate
• damp
• wear
• discourage
• debilitate
• enfeeble
• lobotomize
• sap
• geld
• fatigue
• daunt
• dishearten
• burn out
• wear out
• dispirit
• demoralize
• tucker (out)
• do in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stimulate
• energize
• invigorate
• enliven
• quicken
• vitalize
• arouse
• vivify
• rouse
• stir
• brace
• excite
• provoke
• galvanize
• electrify
• charge
• incite
• inflame
• trigger
• inspire
• spark
• foment
• fire
• lift
• fortify
• ferment
• instigate
• kindle
• cheer
• hearten
• embolden
• whip (up)
• boost
• renew
• revive
• abet
• revitalize
• buoy
• refresh
• rejuvenate
• regenerate
• reawaken
• resurrect
• rekindle
• reactivate
• resuscitate
• recharge
• reanimate
• reenergize
• reawake

2

as in to weaken

to diminish the physical strength of

the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards

Synonyms & Similar Words

• weaken
• soften
• injure
• waste
• exhaust
• debilitate
• enfeeble
• hurt
• paralyze
• sap
• tire
• devitalize
• impair
• deplete
• depress
• damage
• cripple
• prostrate
• etiolate
• incapacitate
• impoverish
• harm
• disable
• hamstring
• invalid
• unman
• lay up
• grind (down)
• wash out
• wear out
• wear down
• break down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthen
• fortify
• energize
• recruit
• invigorate
• beef (up)
• rejuvenate
• harden
• vitalize
• season
• toughen

enervate

2 of 2

adjective

as in feeble

Related Words

• feeble
• enfeebled
• debilitated
• languid
• weak
• enervated
• weakened
• failing
• sapped
• wasted
• wimpy
• dying
• waning
• frail
• decaying
• dissolute
• declining
• immoral
• soft
• precious
• degraded
• demoralized
• debased
• depraved
• dissipated
• debauched
• degenerate
• decayed
• overrefined
• overripe
• effete
• decadent
• washed-up

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb enervate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of enervate are emasculate, unman, and unnerve. While all these words mean "to deprive of strength or vigor and the capacity for effective action," enervate suggests a gradual physical or moral weakening (as through luxury or indolence) until one is too feeble to make an effort.

a nation's youth enervated by affluence and leisure

When would emasculate be a good substitute for enervate?

The synonyms emasculate and enervate are sometimes interchangeable, but emasculate stresses a depriving of characteristic force by removing something essential.

an amendment that emasculates existing safeguards

Where would unman be a reasonable alternative to enervate?

Although the words unman and enervate have much in common, unman implies a loss of manly vigor, fortitude, or spirit.

a soldier unmanned by the terrors of battle

In what contexts can unnerve take the place of enervate?

While in some cases nearly identical to enervate, unnerve implies marked often temporary loss of courage, self-control, or power to act.

unnerved by the near collision

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of enervate

Verb

Campbell, the North Carolina folk singer, describes an enervating process marked by back-and-forth exchanges and lots of waiting. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026

Jenny deflected me with enervating ease. —Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026

The results are often enervating though sometimes clumsy. —Eli Enis, Pitchfork, 3 Feb. 2026

This may reframe his friend’s enervating habit. —Hope Hunt, Baltimore Sun, 30 Jan. 2026

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

Bears do not truly hibernate, but instead enervate, or enter a state of torpor, in their dens. —Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 25 Sep. 2025

Looming over all of it has been the sad, enervating situation with Alexander Isak, forever enshrined as a club legend by dint of Wembley last season but now beyond the point of tarnishing that legacy. —George Caulkin, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025

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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