English Explanatory Dictionary

debilitate

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To make feeble; to weaken.

Pronunciation

/dɪˈbɪlɪteɪt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-debilitate.wav /dəˈbɪləteɪt/

Word forms

debilitate debilitates debilitating debilitated

Etymology

From debilitatus, the past passive participle of Latin dēbilitō (“to weaken, debilitate”), from the adjective dēbilis (“weak”), itself from de- + habilis (“able”). Equivalent to Latin dēbilitō + -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Synonyms

enervate enfeeble weaken

Related words

debile debility debilitation debilitating enervate

Derived words

debilitative
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on D Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary