Synonyms of sapping

sapping 1 of 2

adjective

as in draining

Related Words

• draining
• weakening
• debilitating
• deadening
• exhausting
• enervating
• pernicious
• injurious
• numbing
• deleterious
• enfeebling
• wearying
• unhealthful
• unwholesome
• unhealthy
• noxious
• insalubrious

Dissimilar Words

• vital
• stimulating
• reviving
• refreshing
• bracing
• tonic
• restorative
• cordial
• stimulative
• rejuvenating
• vitalizing
• invigorating
• strengthening
• life-giving
• conditioning

sapping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of sap

as in weakening

to diminish the physical strength of

weeks of hard work had sapped her and left her exhausted

Synonyms & Similar Words

• weakening
• softening
• wasting
• exhausting
• tiring
• injuring
• hurting
• debilitating
• enervating
• damaging
• paralyzing
• depleting
• enfeebling
• crippling
• impairing
• devitalizing
• disabling
• depressing
• prostrating
• harming
• incapacitating
• etiolating
• impoverishing
• hamstringing
• grinding (down)
• wearing out
• laying up
• unmanning
• washing out
• invaliding
• wearing down
• breaking down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthening
• fortifying
• recruiting
• energizing
• invigorating
• hardening
• rejuvenating
• beefing (up)
• vitalizing
• seasoning
• toughening

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sapping

Verb

The yield surge is largely a result of mounting investor concerns about persistent US inflation and ballooning government debt, as well as competition from corporate AI-buildout debt that is sapping demand for Treasuries. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026

The transition from farms, the open range, and artisanal workshops to offices and large, impersonal, factories was seen as sapping virility—just as our tiny cubicles and remote workstations are said to do today. — Michael Kimmel, Time, 15 Aug. 2026

None of these potentially confidence-sapping passages fazed Madjo. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat in Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, straining power grids, sapping water supplies and curbing farm output. — Bloomberg, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2026

Unlike basketball or baseball, pro football is far from the point where regular-season contests become meaningless, but that hasn’t stopped its fans from debating whether the NFL is sapping some of the magic that comes from football’s scarcity. — Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026

Heat waves threaten an array of costs for the economy, sapping the productivity of outdoor workers, shutting some shoppers inside their homes and driving up utility payments, some analysts told ABC News. — Max Zahn, ABC News, 8 July 2026

To be clear, government spending is the biggest, most economy-sapping tax of all. — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 21 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