etiolating

verb

present participle of etiolate
as in weakening
to diminish the physical strength of the long, stressful days and sleepless nights gradually etiolated him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for etiolating
  1. weakening
  2. softening
  3. wasting
Verb
  • Rising operational and financing costs, weakening global demand and shifting trade dynamics ultimately led the board of directors to discontinue operations, the company said.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 11 Sep. 2026
  • An effective Houthi blockade of Bab al-Mandeb would open a new front in the war with Iran and could require US military intervention, potentially weakening Washington’s ability to keep ships moving through Hormuz.
    — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • These grew louder each time a Ferrari left its garage and entered the pit lane before softening again, a call and response that echoed around the circuit.
    — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Meanwhile, softening is still seen over the rest of the year.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of softening
Verb
  • Arnd Wiegmann | Reuters Novartis shares tanked on Tuesday after the pharmaceutical giant said its del-desiran drug for muscle-wasting disorder failed in a late-stage trial.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2026
  • At 83, and contending with myosotis, a muscle-wasting condition that kept him from his own Telluride premiere, Leigh has said this is most likely his last film.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of wasting
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

etiolates
etiolating
etiquette
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Etiolating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/etiolating. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of empirical

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All