etiolate

verb

ˈē-tē-ə-ˌlāt How to pronounce etiolate (audio)
Definition of etiolatenext
as in to weaken
to diminish the physical strength of the long, stressful days and sleepless nights gradually etiolated him

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for etiolate
  1. weaken
  2. soften
  3. waste
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
  • Riggs said the Teamsters’ safety argument is weakened by the inconsistent safety record of human truck drivers, who have fallen asleep at the wheel or driven while distracted or otherwise impaired.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of weaken
Verb
  • Clarify one detail, soften one assumption, and leave room for a smart edit.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 26 Aug. 2026
  • That’s because the scent leads with a masculine-leaning opening of almond blossom, pink pepper, and neroli, before softening to its woody vanilla base.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of soften
Verb
  • The next milestone will be moving beyond individual production lines and demonstrating that waste plastic-to-SAF systems can operate reliably, economically and at a scale to become a meaningful source of aviation fuel.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The Dodgers dropped another one-run heartbreaker in Detroit, wasting Blake Snell’s five innings of one-run baseball as the Tigers walked off with a 2-1 win.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of waste
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.

Browse Nearby Words

ethos
etiolate
etiolated
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Cite this Entry

“Etiolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/etiolate. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

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