Standard Lemma guide

enfeeble

verb · 2 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.

  • /ɪnˈfiːbəl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːbəl
  • CMU ARPABET: EH0 N F IY1 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To make feeble.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • 1774, Dr Samuel Johnson, Preface to the Works of the English Poets, J. Nichols, Volume II, Page 130, "...the gout, with which he had long been tormented, prevailed over the enfeebled powers of nature."

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

make weak

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Life in the camp drained him

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: debilitate, drain

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: weaken

Narrower terms: waste, emaciate, macerate

History

Etymology

From Middle English enfeblen, from Old French enfeblir. Constructed like en- + feeble.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 削弱 (xuēruò) — make feeble
  • Finnish: heikentää — make feeble
  • French: affaiblir — make feeble
  • German: schwächen — make feeble
  • Irish: anbhainnigh — make feeble
  • Irish: díneartaigh — make feeble
  • Māori: whakaiwikore — make feeble
  • Middle English: feblen — make feeble
  • Middle English: enfeblen — make feeble
  • Russian: ослабля́ть (oslabljátʹ) — make feeble
  • Russian: осла́бить (oslábitʹ) — make feeble
  • Scottish Gaelic: lagaich — make feeble
  • Spanish: debilitar — make feeble