WEAKEN Synonyms: 134 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

weaken

verb

ˈwē-kən

Definition of weaken

as in to soften

to diminish the physical strength of weeks of hardship in the desert had greatly weakened them

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to fade

to lose bodily strength or vigor the bodybuilder weakened once she eased off on her workouts

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to dilute

to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances weakened the juice with too much water

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Some have characterized this November 2026 ballot measure as weakening environmental protections. — Ruben Grijalva, Oc Register, 1 Aug. 2026 Removing severely weakened or infested trees to reduce nearby beetle populations. — Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 31 July 2026 The king, weakened by lung cancer, had passed away in his sleep at Sandringham. — Mathilde Engelmann, Vanity Fair, 31 July 2026 Beyond cutting into Ukraine’s revenue and its ability to finance the war, Moscow also hopes to weaken international backing for Kyiv by driving up global food prices. — Ian Bremmer, Time, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for weaken

Recent Examples of Synonyms for weaken

Verb

In recent months, with his cancer diagnosis now public, his attitude had softened and the prospect of him coming back to the stadium was dangling.

— George Caulkin, New York Times, 21 July 2026
Let your shoes soften the look, while the rest of your accessories—like a designer bag and statement jewelry—do all the heavy lifting.

— India Roby, Glamour, 21 July 2026

Definition of soften

Verb

In a year where everything Skubal does has been fair game for discussion and discord, the barbs surrounding the WBC still have not faded.

— Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 22 July 2026
But our excitement fades as Nolan’s camera captures the men raping women, looting houses and reveling in the violence.

— Brent Lang, Variety, 21 July 2026

Definition of fade

Verb

The real threat to Viking isn't this new competition, but the potential for Viking to dilute its own brand by making exceptions to its strict rules.

— Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
The city later determined that roughly 300 gallons of ferric chloride, diluted with reuse water, had flowed into a drainage ditch, the report said.

— Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 28 July 2026

Definition of dilute

Verb

Last week, Tehran accused Kyiv of striking an Iranian commercial vessel carrying a cargo of iron, killing a seafarer and injuring three others.

— Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
In June 2022, another member of Fox’s swimming club, the Kelp Krawlers, Steve Bruemmer, was bitten and seriously injured while swimming in the same area.

— Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of injure

Verb

By early summer, the tents sag like dirty diapers from the undersides of boughs.

— Ben Crair, New Yorker, 31 July 2026
The project is located not far from the former Pfizer headquarters on East 42nd Street, where structural columns buckled and floors sagged on July 7 during its conversion into roughly 1,600 apartments.

— Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 30 July 2026

Definition of sag

Verb

During the 2015-16 season, for instance, Dungeness crabs off the coast of California were infected by a harmful algal bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia, which causes domoic acid poisoning in crabs, fish, birds and marine mammals.

— Susanne Rust Follow, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026
Safe and dignified burial practices protect communities Coming into contact with the body of someone who has died from Ebola can infect mourners, so Wivine and her colleagues work with the bereaved to keep burial practices safe.

— Sarah Ferguson, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

Definition of infect

Verb

What Gu-cheon Required Of Him In The East Palace, currently streaming on Netflix, Nam plays Gu-cheon, a man who can traverse the realm of spirits but whose gift is more of a debilitating condition than a superpower.

— Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
But this is another story entirely, full of its own complications of immigration and homelands and politics, a story of a difficult and fractured relationship with a parent, a story of a debilitating disease.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026

Definition of debilitate

Verb

Justice John Dixon said Bauer Media had failed to show the claims made about Wilson were substantially true or trivial.

— Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
The state ethics commission accused the Georgia Republican Assembly and its political action committee of failing to disclose more than $180,000 of contributions and other violations.

— David Wickert, AJC.com, 22 July 2026

Definition of fail

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weakened

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“Weaken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weaken. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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