debilitate

English

Etymology

Latin debilitatus, past participle of debilitare (“to weaken, debilitate”), from the adjective debilis (“weak”), from de- + habilis (“able”).

Verb

debilitate (third-person singular simple present debilitates, present participle debilitating, simple past and past participle debilitated)

1. To make feeble; to weaken.

   The American Dream suffered a debilitating effect after the subprime crisis.

Synonyms

• weaken
• enfeeble
• enervate

Related terms

• debile
• debility
• debilitation

See also

• enervate

Translations

to make feeble; to weaken

Bulgarian: отслабвам (bg), омаломощавам (bg) Dutch: verzwakken (nl) French: débiliter (fr)

German: an den Kräften zähren Icelandic: veikja (is) Scottish Gaelic: lagaich (gd)

External links

• debilitate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• debilitate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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Interlingua

Noun

debilitate (plural debilitates)

1. weakness

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Italian

Verb

debilitate

1. second-person plural present indicative of debilitare
2. second-person plural imperative of debilitare
3. Feminine plural of debilitato

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Latin

Verb

dēbilitāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of dēbilitō