as in debilitating
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as in weakening
to diminish the physical strength of
long periods of being confined to a hospital bed will enfeeble anyone
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of enfeebling
Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
If the goal instead is regime weakening—enfeebling the Islamic Republic so the Iranian public could overwhelm it—there are two ways forward.
—Dennis Ross, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
If that is the case, the economic effect will be to draw capital out of emerging market economies, enfeebling them (and their currencies and bond markets).
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
In Church’s day, that separation depended on promoting a robust idea of American innocence over Europe’s enfeebling corruption.
—Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
If the goal instead is regime weakening—enfeebling the Islamic Republic so the Iranian public could overwhelm it—there are two ways forward.
—Dennis Ross, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
If that is the case, the economic effect will be to draw capital out of emerging market economies, enfeebling them (and their currencies and bond markets).
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enfeebling
Adjective
-
Chicagoans expect Mayor Johnson and the council to work together to turn over every rock in order to make this debilitating meter situation less onerous.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
10 June 2026
-
My current research is centered on small molecules, particularly those that can prevent or abort the severe pain crises that remain one of the most debilitating and undertreated aspects of sickle cell disease.—
Tanya Lewis,
Scientific American,
5 May 2026
Verb
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Yet the extremist group has mobilized its members and media outlets to ramp up criticism of the agreement, heaping pressure on Iranian negotiators who have been attempting to extract concessions from a US administration intent on weakening – and possibly ending – the Islamic Republic.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
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After reaching record levels in the 1990s and 2000s, deforestation declined until the 2019-2022 term of then President Jair Bolsonaro, whose government was widely criticized for weakening environmental protections.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Others are voluntarily asking to see more patients because the most draining and time-consuming parts of their job are now handled by AI.—
FJ Campbell,
Fortune,
20 May 2026
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Long periods of socializing, like a weeklong conference, can feel far more draining than shorter events.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Its push into prediction markets linked to events like the World Cup has opened a fresh revenue stream and pulled in highly active traders, softening the blow from slower spot crypto volumes.—
Camila Grigera Naón,
Fortune,
16 June 2026
-
To descend the stairs into Marcel, the new French-continental restaurant on the lower level of the Breuer building, on Madison Avenue, is to watch a brutalist masterpiece surrender, with a kind of gracious compliance, to the softening influence of a great deal of money.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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But the most mentally fatiguing aspect, the work found, was having to constantly supervise the AI tools, with some employees overseeing multiple AI agents performing different tasks at the same time.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
12 Mar. 2026
-
My friend was in course of opening up his country house unassisted, and after a fatiguing day discovered that the only practical bed was a child’s affair— long enough but scarcely wider than a crib.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
My professor wasn’t the first person to deliver such discouraging news.—
Celine Nguyen,
The Atlantic,
24 June 2025
-
The news is mostly discouraging.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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The trio also acknowledged how demoralizing and disheartening the recent spate of firings, and the lack of explanation for them, has been.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
11 June 2026
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Smith took over the Kings on March 1 on an interim basis after Jim Hiller was fired, with Holland citing consecutive demoralizing losses to the Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers during a homestand after the Olympic break as a factor in his decision.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
The person walking between those two rooms is doing the quiet, exhausting work of keeping both versions of themselves coherent.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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But the melancholy pop soundtrack (Gracie Abrams, Lana del Rey, Noah Cyrus) and many, many longing gazes suggest we’re meant to find all of this terribly moving, rather than exhausting.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Enfeebling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enfeebling. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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