as in weakness
the quality or state of lacking physical strength or vigor
our grandmother's debility is due in large part to her advanced age
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Recent Examples of debility
The shadow of death and debility haunted American women throughout the nineteenth century.
—
Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024
According to this view, the outside world has been generous to Africa, providing substantial aid in recent decades, leaving no excuse for the continent’s debility.
—Howard W. French, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2015
President Biden’s troubles — lingering inflation, wars and rumors of wars, his debility — could have benefited any Republican.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
As with fibroids, hormonal treatments and surgical options can help, though scarring and changes in the nervous system’s threshold for perceiving pain (eventually creating the experience of pain even in the absence of a stimulus) can create long-term debilities.
—Laura Kolbe, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024
In Amy Schumer’s comedy special Emergency Contact, the comedian talks about developing hyperemesis gravidarum, a potentially life-threatening condition that causes extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting and might lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and debility.
—Brianna Holt, Vogue, 7 July 2023
Given their ages and debilities, these soldiers had been deemed unfit for active service.
—David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
As the wealth of nations increases and exposure to toxins and infectious agents drops, aging will become the cause of most disease, debility, and death.
—George Church, Discover Magazine, 16 Oct. 2012
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven widespread debility, whether a result of distress or the virus itself, compounded in either case by political abandonment and public health failures.
—Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 8 Dec. 2022
Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024
According to this view, the outside world has been generous to Africa, providing substantial aid in recent decades, leaving no excuse for the continent’s debility.
—Howard W. French, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2015
President Biden’s troubles — lingering inflation, wars and rumors of wars, his debility — could have benefited any Republican.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
As with fibroids, hormonal treatments and surgical options can help, though scarring and changes in the nervous system’s threshold for perceiving pain (eventually creating the experience of pain even in the absence of a stimulus) can create long-term debilities.
—Laura Kolbe, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024
In Amy Schumer’s comedy special Emergency Contact, the comedian talks about developing hyperemesis gravidarum, a potentially life-threatening condition that causes extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting and might lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and debility.
—Brianna Holt, Vogue, 7 July 2023
Given their ages and debilities, these soldiers had been deemed unfit for active service.
—David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
As the wealth of nations increases and exposure to toxins and infectious agents drops, aging will become the cause of most disease, debility, and death.
—George Church, Discover Magazine, 16 Oct. 2012
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven widespread debility, whether a result of distress or the virus itself, compounded in either case by political abandonment and public health failures.
—Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 8 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debility
Noun
-
According to the Mayo Clinic, Guillain-Barré is a condition in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves, resulting in weakness, numbness or paralysis.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
5 Mar. 2025
-
Countless emergency room visits, unexplained symptoms, body weakness, and pain became my new normal.—
Essence,
Essence,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
While the world continues around them, parents of children with life-threatening illnesses experience profound exhaustion, fear, and anxiety.—
Friends of Karen,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
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In a time of intense polarization, voters in municipal elections that were held Tuesday around the Chicago area showed encouraging signs of exhaustion with politicians’ drama.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In addition, heavy exercise done while experiencing a respiratory viral illness can lead to chronic fatigue and even exacerbate myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, according to a 2021 study published in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.—
Melanie Radzicki McManus,
CNN,
7 Mar. 2025
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Investigations into the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster revealed that key decision-makers worked on little sleep, raising concerns that fatigue impaired their judgment.—
Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse,
The Conversation,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debility. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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