enervating 1 of 2

adjective

as in exhausting

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enervating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of enervate
1
as in undermining
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 weakening
to diminish the physical strength of the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of enervating
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
  1. exhausting
  2. undermining
  3. weakening
  4. fatiguing
  5. draining
  6. softening
  7. debilitating
  8. deadening
Adjective
  • Guehi, Konsa, Stones and Burn were in the lineup in the frantic, exhausting late minutes of the win against Mexico.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 9 July 2026
  • Playing Tom was exhausting in a way that playing Nile wasn’t.
    — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of exhausting
Verb
  • Opposition parties and human rights organizations have accused Erdogan of undermining democracy and curbing freedom of expression.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
  • Allies include Brin’s Building a Better California, which is bankrolling two counter-measures aimed at undermining the billionaire tax.
    — Ben Paviour July 2, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of undermining
Verb
  • The German lender notes a growing divergence between the nation's weakening fiscal position and its thriving corporate balance sheets.
    — Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 9 July 2026
  • The effect results in the typical east-to-west trade winds weakening or even sometimes reversing, allowing warmer water from the western Pacific to move eastward.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
Definition of weakening
Adjective
  • 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
Definition of fatiguing
Verb
  • But if the drain line is clogged or the drain pan is not tilted appropriately, then this could prevent the moisture from draining away.
    — Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 10 July 2026
  • Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, told conservative podcaster Katie Miller in an interview released earlier this week that the new round of draining was planned.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 July 2026
Definition of draining
Verb
  • The ingredient list includes avocado, which is rich in fats and helps boost flexibility—thereby helping to prevent breakage—as well as sweet almond oil and shea butter for moisturizing and softening.
    — Eden Stuart, Glamour, 7 July 2026
  • In addition to softening and romanticizing looks, these bottoms are extremely comfortable.
    — Irene Richardson, InStyle, 4 July 2026
Definition of softening
Adjective
  • Their assets, systems and networks are considered so essential that their disruption would have a debilitating impact on national security, public safety or the economy.
    — Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a personalized T-cell therapy from Orca Bio, a private biotech company, that reduces the risk of a debilitating immune reaction in patients with blood cancers undergoing stem cell transplants.
    — Adam Feuerstein, STAT, 1 July 2026
Definition of debilitating
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
Definition of deadening

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Cite this Entry

“Enervating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervating. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of enervating for Spanish Speakers

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