Debilitate

Debilitate
To impair the strength or to enfeeble. A chronic progressive disease may debilitate a patient. So may, temporarily, a major surgical procedure. In both cases the weakness is pervasive. Weakness in an arm or leg following the removal of a cast is not debility. The word "debilitate" comes from the Latin word "debilis" for "weak."

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de·bil·i·tate di-'bil-ə-.tāt vt, -tat·ed; -tat·ing to impair the strength of <a body debilitated by disease>
de·bil·i·ta·tion -.bil-ə-'tā-shən n

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • debilitate — DEBILITÁTE, debilităţi, s.f. Faptul de fi debil; stare de slăbiciune a organismului, însoţită de scăderea rezistenţei la eforturi şi la boli, datorită subnutriţiei, unor boli cronice etc. ♢ Debilitate mintală = formă de înapoiere mintală, mai… …   Dicționar Român

  • Debilitate — De*bil i*tate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Debilitated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Debilitating}.] [L. debilitatus, p. p. of debilitare to debilitate, fr. debilis. See {Debility}.] To impair the strength of; to weaken; to enfeeble; as, to debilitate the body by… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • debilitate — I verb cripple, denature, deprive of strength, devitalize, emasculate, enervate, enfeeble, eviscerate, exhaust, impair, incapacitate, injure, lessen, make feeble, make languid, reduce, render weak, sap the strength of, undermine, weaken II index… …   Law dictionary

  • debilitate — (v.) 1530s, from L. debilitatus, pp. of debilitare to weaken, from debilis weak (see DEBILITY (Cf. debility)). Related: Debilitated; debilitating …   Etymology dictionary

  • debilitate — enfeeble, *weaken, undermine, sap, cripple, disable Analogous words: impair, *injure, damage, harm, hurt, mar, spoil Antonyms: invigorate Contrasted words: energize, *vitalize: *renew, restore, rejuvenate, refresh …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • debilitate — [v] incapacitate attenuate, blunt, cripple, devitalize, disable, enervate, enfeeble, eviscerate, exhaust, extenuate, harm, hurt, injure, mar, prostrate, relax, sap, spoil, unbrace, undermine, unstrengthen, weaken, wear out; concepts 240,246 Ant.… …   New thesaurus

  • debilitate — ► VERB ▪ severely weaken. DERIVATIVES debilitation noun. ORIGIN Latin debilitare, from debilis weak …   English terms dictionary

  • debilitate — [dē bil′ə tāt΄, dibil′ə tāt΄] vt. debilitated, debilitating [< L debilitatus, pp. of debilitare, to weaken < debilis, weak, not strong < de (see DE ) + deriv. of IE base * bel , strong > Gr belteros, better] to make weak or feeble;… …   English World dictionary

  • debilitate — [[t]dɪbɪ̱lɪteɪt[/t]] debilitates, debilitating, debilitated 1) VERB: usu passive If you are debilitated by something such as an illness, it causes your body or mind to become gradually weaker. [FORMAL] [be V ed by n] Stewart took over yesterday… …   English dictionary

  • debilitate — UK [dɪˈbɪlɪteɪt] / US [dɪˈbɪlɪˌteɪt] verb [transitive, usually passive] Word forms debilitate : present tense I/you/we/they debilitate he/she/it debilitates present participle debilitating past tense debilitated past participle debilitated formal …   English dictionary

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