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Synonym Chooser

How is the word weaken distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of weaken are cripple, debilitate, disable, enfeeble, sap, and undermine. While all these words mean "to lose or cause to lose strength or vigor," weaken may imply loss of physical strength, health, soundness, or stability or of quality, intensity, or effective power.

a disease that weakens the body's defenses

When would cripple be a good substitute for weaken?

While in some cases nearly identical to weaken, cripple implies causing a serious loss of functioning power through damaging or removing an essential part or element.

crippled by arthritis

Where would debilitate be a reasonable alternative to weaken?

The words debilitate and weaken can be used in similar contexts, but debilitate suggests a less marked or more temporary impairment of strength or vitality.

the debilitating effects of surgery

When could disable be used to replace weaken?

While the synonyms disable and weaken are close in meaning, disable suggests bringing about impairment or limitation in a physical or mental ability.

disabled by an injury sustained at work

When might enfeeble be a better fit than weaken?

The synonyms enfeeble and weaken are sometimes interchangeable, but enfeeble implies a condition of marked weakness and helplessness.

enfeebled by starvation

How are the words undermine and sap related as synonyms of weaken?

Both undermine and sap suggest a weakening by something working surreptitiously and insidiously.

a poor diet undermines your health
drugs had sapped his ability to think

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 weaken But if dark energy is weakening by w becoming more positive over time, then a few interesting possibilities result. Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 3 Oct. 2025 But, if the valves weaken or become damaged, blood can pool around them, and the veins bulge. Bryant Stamford, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Oct. 2025 When the eye looks symmetrical, that often means the storm is not encountering anything to weaken it. The New York Times, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025 And your lower trapezius muscles weaken and strain against the upward pull, leading to backaches and pain around the scapulae. Dana Santas, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for weaken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weaken
Verb
  • That initial white chocolate softens into something creamier and woodier as the hours pass.
    Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Expect Hamas to try to equivocate, buy time, soften language, and insist on impossible guarantees while preserving levers of power.
    Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • As anger fades into apathy and grief is aggravated by guilt, the public also chooses silence.
    Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
  • While pie crust seems to be fading away, some chefs would rather think completely outside the box by creating a completely different crust.
    Amber Love Bond, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The 2024 European Parliament elections strengthened far-right blocs and pushed the centre-right toward diluting elements of the Green Deal, reframing climate rules as sovereignty or competitiveness threats and amplifying cost-of-living and farmer-protest narratives.
    Felicia Jackson, Forbes.com, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Bitcoin treasury craze cools Companies that diluted their stock by selling shares specifically to fund Bitcoin purchases have seen their values tumble by 20% to 50%, according to the WSJ.
    Diane Brady, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Police in England said one of the two Jewish community members killed and one of the victims injured during an attack at a synagogue on Yom Kippur are now believed to have been struck by police gunfire as officers tried to stop the attacker.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The kids associate helicopters with life flights to the local hospital, a sign that someone has been seriously injured, Cornelison said.
    John Wisely, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This can lead your soft tissues to sag into those gaps, causing your muscles to tense up in compensation.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Much of the composition is given to the trio of commissioners who, tasked with investigating charges of bias in the trial, upheld the verdict—their faces sagging and stony, their staid officiousness echoing the resolute lines of the courthouse behind them.
    Nicole Rudick, The New York Review of Books, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • At the end of the 19th century, Phylloxera bugs infected vineyards across Europe but a solution was found, and viticulture adapted and continued.
    Miguel A. Torres, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Any area where people are touching the same surfaces can be a risk, and people can get infected from touching items in those areas.
    Ashley J. DiMella, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Over time, this can lead to painful and debilitating ulcers, typically occurring on the inner side of the leg above the ankle.
    Bryant Stamford, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
  • The star, 52, made his first appearance since missing the Emmys earlier this month and vowed not to give up the fight against the debilitating disease.
    Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But Kempes had failed to score at the World Cup four years earlier, and started this tournament slowly.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Water bottles left behind were filled with black urine – a sign of failing kidneys and dehydration.
    Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Weaken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weaken. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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