debilitating
adjective
Fay KnicelyRon CowenRay Olson
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Debilitating describes things that cause serious impairment of strength or ability to function. The word appears in both medical and general contexts; someone can suffer from debilitating nausea or debilitating stage fright. An adjective that takes the form of a verb, debilitating dates to the mid-17th century, making it the youngest of a trio: its source, the verb debilitate ("to impair the strength of"), dates to the early 16th century, and the noun debility ("weakness, infirmity") has been in use since the 15th century. All come from the Latin word for "weak," debilis. Polyglots may recognize the influence of debilis in words from Spanish, Russian, Czech, Turkish, Danish, and many other languages as well.
Examples of debilitating in a Sentence
David Matthews, New York Daily News, 24 June 2025
The scheduling announcement comes as the U.S. and China have squabbled over numerous issues in the midst of a debilitating trade war that threatens both economic superpowers.
—Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 6 June 2025
The dataset is designed to help researchers better understand the relationship between genetics, immunology and metabolism, which could accelerate new treatments for the debilitating neurological disease.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Keeping with that maxim, McNally begins with his suicide attempt in 2018 on the heels of a debilitating stroke.
—Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for debilitating
Cite this Entry
“Debilitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debilitating. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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