as in exhausting
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1
as in undermining
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
a lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weakening
to diminish the physical strength of
the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of enervating
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enervating
Adjective
-
That, after a while, is exhausting.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
29 May 2026
-
As Wiley entered menopause and experienced the hot flashes, hair-thinning, and other physical symptoms that come with it, her straightening treatment—once a moment for pampering—became an exhausting chore.—
Annie Blay-Tettey,
Allure,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Congress can pursue fiscal responsibility without undermining one of the most focused and effective nutrition programs in the federal government.—
Sam Raus,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 May 2026
-
If organizations aren’t careful, their approach to AI will split their workforce into haves and have-nots, undermining the technology’s benefits.—
Matt Rosenbaum,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Brooks Koepka, who rejoined the PGA Tour from LIV Golf in January, withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge at the last minute despite being originally scheduled to play, further weakening the field.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 May 2026
-
Second, some worry that some of the financial safeguards and market disciplines developed after previous crises may be weakening.—
Robert Ginsburg,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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But the most mentally fatiguing aspect, the work found, was having to constantly supervise the AI tools, with some employees overseeing multiple AI agents performing different tasks at the same time.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
12 Mar. 2026
-
My friend was in course of opening up his country house unassisted, and after a fatiguing day discovered that the only practical bed was a child’s affair— long enough but scarcely wider than a crib.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But the recession of 1969–70 hit New York hard, draining the city of half a million jobs.—
Kevin Lozano,
Harpers Magazine,
2 June 2026
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Making the powder involves several steps, including milk testing and pasteurization, the separation of curds and whey, draining and pasteurizing the liquid whey, and then sending it to a processing facility to remove more liquid via evaporation and spray drying.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Verb
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With inflation surging, wages softening and borrowing costs high thanks to elevated interest rates, the incentive to protect this money is particularly strong now.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
-
But softening Republican support on specific policy matters — including top voter priorities, such as the economy — have begun raising questions among experts whether further erosion is possible.—
Ana Ceballos,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
In the third, and most debilitating, patients withdraw from the world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Cobain had struggled for years with depression, substance abuse issues and a debilitating, unexplained stomach ailment.—
Nicole Briese,
PEOPLE,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Sam Lambert laid down a safety squeeze, deadening the ball in front of the plate and scoring Balls to trim the lead to 3-1.—
Dave Montrose,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 May 2026
-
Another suggestion was requiring special sound-deadening balls, currently available, that lower the decibel levels considerably.—
John Ramos,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Enervating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervating. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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