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
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
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 video evidence also appears to undermine elements of the government’s narrative of what happened.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Environmental and labor leaders say the pause is costing thousands of jobs and undermining energy independence.—
Carolyn Gusoff,
CBS News,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
Adjective
-
And honestly, what could be more feeble?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Their calculations show that a feeble interaction between the inflaton field and elementary particles called gluons would be sufficient to warm up inflation.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
27 Oct. 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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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
Adjective
-
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
-
During a hospital stay, Roy’s enfeebled mother fixates on the caste and religious affiliations of the doctors treating her—the sort of thing that will be familiar to anyone who has cringed at a diminished elder’s unfiltered prejudices.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
3 Sep. 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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Both nationally and in Minnesota , there has been a shift away from intelligent discussion of public policy to endless partisan warfare with a deadening impact on the public.—
Arne Carlson,
Twin Cities,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Our default options provide shelter for a fraction of those who need it and at the same time deaden streets, crowd the sky, and anger neighbors.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Enervate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervate. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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