debility

noun

de·​bil·​i·​ty di-ˈbi-lə-tē How to pronounce debility (audio)
dē-
plural debilities

Examples of debility in a Sentence

The disease leads to debility but rarely kills. the debilities of elderly people
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The shadow of death and debility haunted American women throughout the nineteenth century. Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024 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 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 Has our battle with COVID-19 come to such a standstill that a slow burn of disruption, debility, and death will continue for years to come? Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2022 At 40, Baudelaire was a shadow of his former self, crushed by unrepayable debts, suffering the aftereffects of a seemingly minor stroke, and facing the onset of syphilitic debility. Washington Post, 11 May 2022

Word History

Etymology

Middle English debilite, from Middle French debilité, from Latin debilitat-, debilitas, from debilis, from de- de- + -bilis; akin to Sanskrit bala strength

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of debility was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Debility.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debility. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

debility

noun
de·​bil·​i·​ty di-ˈbil-ət-ē How to pronounce debility (audio)
plural debilities
: a weakened state

Medical Definition

debility

noun
de·​bil·​i·​ty di-ˈbil-ət-ē How to pronounce debility (audio)
plural debilities
: the quality or state of being weak, feeble, or infirm
especially : physical weakness

More from Merriam-Webster on debility

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!