Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective causing weakness. Opposite of invigorating.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Causing a loss of energy or strength.
  • verb Present participle of debilitate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective impairing the strength and vitality

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word debilitating.

Examples

  • It was clear that most South Africans refused to be drawn into what he labelled debilitating action against the government they elected themselves.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2002

  • Netshitenzhe said it was clear that most South Africans refused to be mobilised into what he labelled debilitating action against the government they elected themselves.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2002

  • For the last month, Mr. Besigye and other opposition leaders, many of whom lost handily to President Museveni in the February election, have staged twice-weekly street demonstrations to protest rising fuel and food prices, and what they call debilitating government corruption.

    NYT > Global Home By JOSH KRON 2011

  • His childhood traumas resulted in debilitating bouts of depression which he later called “my dark nights of the soul”.

    robert hayden | those winter sundays « poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground 2008

  • "The New Nobility" is unbeatable for its depiction of today's FSB, but the book might have paid more attention to the long-term debilitating effects of the agency's corruption and nepotism: Those may contain the seeds of the FSB's ultimate destruction.

    State Security, Post-Soviet Style 2010

  • Declassified documents released by the FBI this week paint a picture of an esteemed and learned man who nonetheless fell prey to a long-term debilitating habit while he was a Supreme Court justice during the 1970s.

    Medication Missteps 2007

  • Uncontrolled or runaway debt also has a long-term debilitating effect on a nation's economy.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • As Jeff sees it, the correlation between physical and financial abuse is strong and can lead to long-term debilitating consequences.

    Forbes.com: News Jeff Landers 2011

  • Uncontrolled or runaway debt also has a long-term debilitating effect on a nation's economy.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • Yet one woman dies every minute and many more face long-term debilitating ill-health as a result of conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth.

    WN.com - Articles related to Older mothers are simply a fact of modern life 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.