as in draining
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as in weakening
to diminish the physical strength of
weeks of hard work had sapped her and left her exhausted
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Recent Examples of sapping
Mark Medina, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
With the World Cup kickoff just over a week away, climate scientists are warning that heat could be an invisible opponent, slowing play at open-air venues like Kansas City Stadium (Arrowhead Stadium), sapping players’ legs and testing fans in sweltering conditions.
—Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026
That uses the aerodisc wheels, each machined from a single piece of aluminum and designed to minimize range-sapping eddies and wakes by funneling the air like a turbine.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 26 May 2026
Over two energy-sapping legs and more than three-and-a-half hours of football, Southampton required a 116th-minute winner from Shea Charles to come from behind on the night and eliminate Middlesbrough from the Championship play-offs and advance to the final against Hull City on Saturday, May 23.
—Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 13 May 2026
Democrats in control of the legislature warn that would hamstring other state priorities, like education and healthcare, by sapping money from the general fund.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 May 2026
The conflict is not only sapping oil revenue, but also Gulf states’ efforts to expand their economies beyond it.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 10 May 2026
But too often those extra years are not healthy ones — sapping the sweetness from what should be our golden years.
—Bryan T. Kelly, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
Yet there is scant appetite for such an effort before the midterms from party leadership—as well as from swing-state lawmakers and those who see it as the kind of therapy presenting as governance that risks sapping the party’s momentum.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
San Antonio shot a collective 11-for-16 from deep, essentially sapping away any effort the Knicks made to rectify their unexpected Game 3 loss in their first Finals home in 27 years.
—Mark Medina, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
With the World Cup kickoff just over a week away, climate scientists are warning that heat could be an invisible opponent, slowing play at open-air venues like Kansas City Stadium (Arrowhead Stadium), sapping players’ legs and testing fans in sweltering conditions.
—Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026
That uses the aerodisc wheels, each machined from a single piece of aluminum and designed to minimize range-sapping eddies and wakes by funneling the air like a turbine.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 26 May 2026
Over two energy-sapping legs and more than three-and-a-half hours of football, Southampton required a 116th-minute winner from Shea Charles to come from behind on the night and eliminate Middlesbrough from the Championship play-offs and advance to the final against Hull City on Saturday, May 23.
—Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 13 May 2026
Democrats in control of the legislature warn that would hamstring other state priorities, like education and healthcare, by sapping money from the general fund.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 May 2026
The conflict is not only sapping oil revenue, but also Gulf states’ efforts to expand their economies beyond it.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 10 May 2026
But too often those extra years are not healthy ones — sapping the sweetness from what should be our golden years.
—Bryan T. Kelly, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
Yet there is scant appetite for such an effort before the midterms from party leadership—as well as from swing-state lawmakers and those who see it as the kind of therapy presenting as governance that risks sapping the party’s momentum.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 10 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sapping
Adjective
-
Others are voluntarily asking to see more patients because the most draining and time-consuming parts of their job are now handled by AI.—
FJ Campbell,
Fortune,
20 May 2026
-
Already carrying wider spans of control and shrinking development support, a manager operating against an outdated role definition is doing something more draining than managing a heavy workload.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Yet the extremist group has mobilized its members and media outlets to ramp up criticism of the agreement, heaping pressure on Iranian negotiators who have been attempting to extract concessions from a US administration intent on weakening – and possibly ending – the Islamic Republic.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
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After reaching record levels in the 1990s and 2000s, deforestation declined until the 2019-2022 term of then President Jair Bolsonaro, whose government was widely criticized for weakening environmental protections.—
Gabriela Sa Pessoa,
Fortune,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
Such a statistic often provokes a familiar gamut of responses from those who read it, from shock, disgust and anger to a debilitating sense of helplessness.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
-
In the third, and most debilitating, patients withdraw from the world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Hilton cut his teeth in his native UK working in Conservative Party politics, where he was credited with softening the party’s image on issues like the environment.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
9 June 2026
-
Adding a small amount of baking soda during soaking or cooking may help reduce gas by breaking down some of these compounds and softening the beans.—
Kathleen Ferraro,
Verywell Health,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Fans cool people, not rooms, so turning them off in empty spaces avoids wasting energy.—
Timothy Dale,
The Spruce,
6 June 2026
-
The legendary musician opened up about living with inclusion body myositis (IBM), which, according to Johns Hopkins, is an inflammatory muscle-wasting disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness.—
Leigh Blickley,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sapping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sapping. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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