Library / English Dictionary

DEBILITATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make weak

Example:

Life in the camp drained him

Synonyms:

debilitate; drain; enfeeble

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "debilitate" is one way to...):

weaken (lessen the strength of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "debilitate"):

emaciate; macerate; waste (cause to grow thin or weak)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

debilitation (serious weakening and loss of energy)

debilitative (causing debilitation)

debility (the state of being weak in health or body (especially from old age))

Credits

 Context examples: 

Chronic, progressive, debilitating and non-reversible fibrosis of the submucosal tissues of the mouth.

(Oral Cavity Submucous Fibrosis, NCI Thesaurus)

They can be especially debilitating in teenagers and often disrupt everyday activities, such as school, music and sports.

(Innovative Treatment Offers Relief to Children with Frequent Migraine Headaches, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A highly invasive form of electroanalgesia mainly used in the management of debilitating chronic pain syndromes after all other less invasive therapeutic modalities (including SCS) have failed.

(Deep Brain Stimulation, NCI Thesaurus)

The debilitating behaviours and all-consuming thoughts, which affect people with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), could be significantly improved with targeted deep brain stimulation.

(Deep brain stimulation may significantly improve OCD symptoms, University of Cambridge)

The project may pave the way for the development of more effective painkillers for the treatment of this debilitating chronic condition, which afflicts approximately 500 million people throughout the world.

(Genetic study paves way for new neuropathic pain treatments, University of Granada)

Emphysema is a debilitating disease, and people with emphysema have difficulty breathing along with a persistent cough and phlegm.

(Study finds link between long-term exposure to air pollution and emphysema, National Institutes of Health)

The study also identified new regulators of muscle regeneration which could also open doors for the pharmaceutical industry to develop new treatments to address the normal but debilitating loss of muscle in the aging population.

(New Genes Found Responsible for Regulating Muscle Cells, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)