devitalize en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē-der. English de- English vitalize English devitalize From de- + vitalize.
Meanings
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(figuratively, qualifier:literal, transitive) To deprive of vitality; to make lifeless; to weaken.
Noncrushing surgical clamps avoid devitalizing the cells of arterial walls.
Near-synonym: deanimate
Economic stress has devitalized some shopping malls in the web era.
Not so long ago a Scotsman is reported to have exhumed the body of his daughter and burnt her heart, as he thought she was devitalising her remaining brother and sister and making them ill.
1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 126:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| devitalizes | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| devitalized | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| devitalized | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| devitalizing | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Antonyms
reanimate · revitalize · vitalize · rejuvenate · animate
Coordinates
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (1)
de abtöten (1. To deprive of vitality)