enervates

verb

present tense third-person singular of enervate
1
as in undermines
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality a lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul

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2
as in weakens
to diminish the physical strength of the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for enervates
  1. undermines
  2. weakens
  3. exhausts
  4. softens
  5. deadens
  6. drains
  7. petrifies
Verb
  • The action sequences, meanwhile, are bloody but sterile and neat in a way that undermines the film’s wannabe grindhouse efforts.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • But, of course, the appearances surrounding her relationship with Vrabel undermines our audience’s confidence in her impartiality.
    — Mike Semel, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of undermines
Verb
  • Even if Korea can maintain 2% economic growth over the next two decades, consumption growth gradually weakens and eventually turns negative, according to Goldman’s long-term modeling.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
  • As that frozen ground warms and ice inside thaws, the cement weakens, and slopes that stood for thousands of years can lose their grip.
    — Umesh Haritashya, The Conversation, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of weakens
Verb
  • If a bureaucratic process exhausts whatever time a citizen has available, then benefits are lost or rights are denied.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
  • That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 July 2026
Definition of exhausts
Verb
  • Talanx German insurer Talanx 's lean cost base and 6 billion euros of resilience reserves can help sustain earnings growth, even as pricing softens in its reinsurance and corporate-specialty units, according to Goldman.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Specs There are multiple textures at play in House of Leon’s Milan daybed, where tactile bouclé softens the look of a sleek stainless steel.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of softens
Verb
  • Oppressively hot, lie-down-and-take-a-nap hot, hydration-break hot, the kind of hot that deadens feet.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 10 July 2026
Definition of deadens
Verb
  • Aerate The Soil Soil that drains poorly and becomes waterlogged will cause grass to suffer, but nutgrass can flourish in these conditions.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Defensiveness extends conversations, weakens credibility and drains emotional energy that could have been directed toward solving problems.
    — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of drains
Verb
  • Here, a source of primordial terror—the gaze that petrifies—is deflected by way of the highly polished shield that Perseus wields against the creature.
    — Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 5 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of petrifies
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Enervates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervates. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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