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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to weaken
to diminish the physical strength of
the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in feeble
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of enervate
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
Perhaps the most intimate of these photographs presents her after a shower, wet and enervated, rubbing a cloth across her reflection in a mirror, as though the condensation were crud.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2020
But the art which resists the slow sap of a chronic disease—which repairs frames enervated by lust, swollen by gluttony, or inflamed by wine . .
—Chris Pope, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2019
Verb
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
Perhaps the most intimate of these photographs presents her after a shower, wet and enervated, rubbing a cloth across her reflection in a mirror, as though the condensation were crud.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2020
But the art which resists the slow sap of a chronic disease—which repairs frames enervated by lust, swollen by gluttony, or inflamed by wine . .
—Chris Pope, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enervate
Verb
-
The report also undermines Orbán’s claims that Hungary has no option but to purchase Russian oil.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
-
This constitutes a blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, undermines the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and obstructs the establishment of their independent sovereign state .—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Getty Images Since the June strikes, Iran’s rulers have been weakened by street protests, suppressed at a cost of thousands of lives, against a cost-of-living crisis driven in part by international sanctions that have strangled the country’s oil income.—
Max Burman,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Some purchasers had issues with the hook-and-loop straps weakening quickly.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
When approached, such a goose might have made a feeble attempt to escape.—
Bryan Hendricks,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
-
His inability to recognize the oxymoron makes Cole’s introspection on this topic feel less like a genuine reckoning and more like a feeble attempt at bleaching out the darkest stains of his career.—
Benny Sun,
Pitchfork,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This is particularly important when air-drying laundry, taking a shower, cooking, or cleaning, and it should be done even in kitchens and bathrooms with ventilation systems that exhaust directly to the outdoors.—
Nashia Baker,
Martha Stewart,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Sources stressed the request for help from Mexico was to exhaust all options but there is not any clear evidence suggesting either Guthrie or the kidnappers are there.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Indoor plants soften hard edges, brighten dim corners, and bring a bit of the outdoors inside.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
17 Feb. 2026
-
And, companies with higher all-in sustaining costs are far more vulnerable if silver prices soften again.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
With this enfeebled mind my only recourse is poetry.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Chargers guards and center Bradley Bozeman, a trio whose job was made more difficult by subpar play by both offensive tackles, looked enfeebled against Indianapolis Colt tackle DeForest Buckner.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
CEOs are struggling to switch off, Ko says, and making high-stakes decisions while their mental batteries are drained.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
20 Feb. 2026
-
This was an adaptation of the 1906 novel about the meatpacking industry by Upton Sinclair; famously, Lookingglass actors hung by their heels, depicting the draining carcasses of the Chicago Stockyards.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Considerable resources were devoted to acoustics that deaden the train noise from the outside.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Schjerfbeck also liked the way Degas bleached his pastels to deaden their tone.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Enervate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervate. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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