Standard Lemma guide

debilitate

adj · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /dɪˈbɪlɪteɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /dəˈbɪləteɪt/
  • CMU ARPABET: D AH0 B IH1 L AH0 T EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Feeble, enfeebled.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To make feeble; to weaken.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: enervate, enfeeble, weaken

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

make weak

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Life in the camp drained him

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: enfeeble, drain

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: weaken

Narrower terms: waste, emaciate, macerate

History

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; adjective-forming suffix).

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: отслабвам (otslabvam) — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Bulgarian: омаломощавам (omalomoštavam) — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Czech: oslabit — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Dutch: verzwakken — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Finnish: heikentää — to make feeble; to weaken
  • French: débiliter — to make feeble; to weaken
  • German: an den Kräften zehren — to make feeble; to weaken
  • German: schwächen — to make feeble; to weaken
  • German: entkräften — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Greek: αποχαυνώνω (apochavnóno) — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Icelandic: veikja — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Ido: debiligar — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Japanese: 弱化する (jakka suru) — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Latin: debilito — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Māori: whakangoikore — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Norwegian Bokmål: svekke — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Norwegian Bokmål: svekkes — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: svekke — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: svekkje — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: svekkast — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: svekkjast — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Polish: osłabiać — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Polish: osłabić — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Russian: ослабля́ть (oslabljátʹ) — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Scottish Gaelic: lagaich — to make feeble; to weaken
  • Spanish: debilitar — to make feeble; to weaken