enervate

[ verb en-er-veyt; adjective ih-nur-vit ]
See synonyms for: enervateenervatedenervatingenervation on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),en·er·vat·ed, en·er·vat·ing.
  1. to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken.

adjective

Origin of enervate

1
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin ēnervātus “weakened” (past participle of ēnervāre “to weaken”), equivalent to ē- “from, out of” + nerv(us) “sinew” + -ātus adjective suffix; see origin at e-1, nerve, -ate1; compare Anglo-French enervir, French énerver

Other words for enervate

Other words from enervate

  • en·er·va·tion, noun
  • en·er·va·tive, adjective
  • en·er·va·tor, noun
  • non·en·er·vat·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with enervate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use enervate in a sentence

  • I am feverish, horribly feverish, or rather I am in a state of feverish enervation, which makes my mind suffer as much as my body.

  • Of the voluptuous enervation that comes of such an hour he neither knew nor asked to know.

    Tony Butler | Charles James Lever
  • This increased use of oxygen means healthy stimulation, growth of lung capacity, and exaltation of spirit without enervation.

  • Even illness, with its resulting weakness and enervation, forced nothing from her.

    Germinie Lacerteux | Edmond and Jules de Goncourt
  • The feminine trick was pardoned to her because her unaccustomed betrayal of that form of enervation was desired.

British Dictionary definitions for enervate

enervate

verb(ˈɛnəˌveɪt)
  1. (tr) to deprive of strength or vitality; weaken physically or mentally; debilitate

adjective(ɪˈnɜːvɪt)
  1. deprived of strength or vitality; weakened

Origin of enervate

1
C17: from Latin ēnervāre to remove the nerves from, from nervus nerve, sinew

Derived forms of enervate

  • enervation, noun
  • enervative, adjective
  • enervator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012