enfeebled 1 of 2

enfeebled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of enfeeble

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 enfeebled
Adjective
By 1877, the hope for Black equality met an enfeebled federal government that essentially permitted Jim Crow to run amok. Wesley Morris, New York Times, 9 June 2026 But given the island’s small size and enfeebled state, the risks seem much smaller than in Iran. Niall Stanage, The Hill, 20 May 2026 With this enfeebled mind my only recourse is poetry. 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 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
The costs of maintaining an enormous Cold War army and navy enfeebled an already unstable Soviet economy. Gregory A. Daddis, The Conversation, 14 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enfeebled
Adjective
  • Last fall, major lenders reported that business was booming despite a sluggish art market, arguing that collectors preferred borrowing against valuable works rather than selling into weaker conditions.
    Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2026
  • Goods consumption is weak, while services consumption is outperforming, running above headline GDP growth, Liao said.
    Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 29 July 2026
Verb
  • Researchers, educators, and policymakers questioned whether broadcasting encouraged juvenile delinquency, weakened family relationships, and gave governments and media organizations unprecedented influence over public opinion.
    Michael Edmondson, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Hochul, who weakened the state’s climate goals and signed off on new gas pipelines, is again an example.
    Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 21 July 2026
Adjective
  • Europe was economically too feeble and politically too fragmented to resist this Coca-Colonization.
    Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
  • Using Neanderthal cranium shapes to estimate specific brain regions’ volume, some investigators claimed to see signs of a mind with feeble linguistic abilities, poor executive function and an unremarkable memory.
    Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 20 July 2026
Verb
  • But as a candidate for governor, Hong had softened her tone while not disavowing her past statements.
    ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • In recent years, critical attitudes towards Terrordome, which was Onwurah’s debut, have softened, with institutions programming the title as part of retrospectives and championing it as a seminal example of afrofuritist filmmaking.
    Zac Ntim, Deadline, 29 July 2026
Adjective
  • Perennially frail, sick, and gaunt, the ambient guitar composer had devoted his life to a sprawling catalog, some 40 albums wide, that resembles a matchstick model of paradise.
    Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 30 July 2026
  • The twenty-minute conversation about whether that procedure serves a frail 84-year-old is not.
    Sachin H. Jain, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Adjective
  • Too many products slap the label on without including disabled people anywhere in development or testing, treating accessibility as an add-on rather than a design requirement.
    Keely Cat-Wells, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • When scientists temporarily disabled mole-rats’ olfactory sensory neurons with chemicals, the aggression towards strangers disappeared.
    Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Enfeebled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enfeebled. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on enfeebled

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster