debilitate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Other Word Forms
- debilitant noun
- debilitation noun
- debilitative adjective
- nondebilitating adjective
- nondebilitative adjective
- overdebilitate verb (used with object)
- undebilitated adjective
- undebilitating adjective
- undebilitative adjective
Etymology
Origin of debilitate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin dēbilitātus (past participle of dēbilitāre ), equivalent to dēbilit-, stem of dēbilis “weak” + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jacob was diagnosed with the rare condition when he was a few days old, and since developed gastrointestinal dystonia, a debilitating stomach condition caused by neurological impairment.
From BBC
"It was heartbreaking, debilitating, frustrating… I was stopped in my tracks. I'm still probably working through a range of emotions," he admitted.
From BBC
“The Dream” also explores her complicated relationship to death following that debilitating bus accident, one of her signature themes.
The prime minister has made much of his background, repeatedly mentioning in speeches his father was a toolmaker and his mother a nurse, who suffered from a debilitating form of arthritis known as Still's disease.
From BBC
Jaguar Land Rover said Friday it swung to a quarterly loss of almost $750 million after stopping its assembly lines in September to manage a debilitating hack.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
