Dictionary

debilitate en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /dəˈbɪləteɪt/ (US)
• /dɪˈbɪlɪteɪt/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From debilitatus, the past passive participle of Latin dēbilitō (“to weaken, debilitate”), from the adjective dēbilis (“weak”), itself from de- + habilis (“able”). Equivalent to Latin dēbilitō + -ate (verb-forming suffix; adjective-forming suffix).

Meanings

1. (obsolete) Feeble, enfeebled.
   • It is powerfull in helping extenuat and leane perſons who are troubled with difficultie of drawing their Brath: gives vigour and ſtrength to vithered and debilitat members; […] 1618, Patri[c]k Anderson, The Colde Spring of Kinghorne Craig […], Edinburgh: Thomas Finlason, unnumbered page:

Forms

debilitate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /dəˈbɪləteɪt/ (US)
• /dɪˈbɪlɪteɪt/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From debilitatus, the past passive participle of Latin dēbilitō (“to weaken, debilitate”), from the adjective dēbilis (“weak”), itself from de- + habilis (“able”). Equivalent to Latin dēbilitō + -ate (verb-forming suffix; adjective-forming suffix).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make feeble; to weaken.
   • Twice, they found themselves behind, seemingly on their way out, and on both occasions they absolutely refused to let their lack of numbers debilitate them. 2015 March 12, Daniel Taylor, “Chelsea out of Champions League after Thiago Silva sends 10-man PSG through on away goals”, in The Guardian (London):
   • The personal desire to forget is one thing, if practiced by historians it debilitates history. 1986 February 15, Denis M. Sweet, “A Sobering History from Weimar to the Ovens”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 39, page B3:
   • The American Dream suffered a debilitating effect after the subprime crisis.

Forms

Deriveds

debilitative

Relateds

debilitation · debility · debile · debilitating · enervate

Synonyms

enfeeble · weaken · enervate

Translations (29)

nb svekkes (to make feeble; to weaken) · de schwächen (to make feeble; to weaken) · bg омаломощавам (to make feeble; to weaken) · pl osłabiać (to make feeble; to weaken) · nn svekkje (to make feeble; to weaken) · es debilitar (to make feeble; to weaken) · el αποχαυνώνω (to make feeble; to weaken) · gd lagaich (to make feeble; to weaken) · mi whakangoikore (to make feeble; to weaken) · io debiligar (to make feeble; to weaken) · nn svekkast (to make feeble; to weaken) · de entkräften (to make feeble; to weaken) · ja 弱化する (to make feeble; to weaken) · cmn 使衰弱 (to make feeble; to weaken) · ru ослабля́ть (to make feeble; to weaken) · de an den Kräften zehren (to make feeble; to weaken) · la debilito (to make feeble; to weaken) · nn svekke (to make feeble; to weaken) · fr débiliter (to make feeble; to weaken) · cmn 使虛弱 /使虚弱 (to make feeble; to weaken) · nl verzwakken (to make feeble; to weaken) · cs oslabit (to make feeble; to weaken) · nb svekke (to make feeble; to weaken) · fi heikentää (to make feeble; to weaken) · cmn 削弱 (to make feeble; to weaken) · is veikja (to make feeble; to weaken) · pl osłabić (to make feeble; to weaken) · bg отслабвам (to make feeble; to weaken) · nn svekkjast (to make feeble; to weaken)