Synonyms
Examples of debility in a Sentence
The disease leads to debility but rarely kills.
the debilities of elderly people
Recent Examples on the Web
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'debility.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near debility
Cite this Entry
“Debility.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debility. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
debility
noun
de·bil·i·ty
di-ˈbil-ət-ē 
plural debilities
: the quality or state of being weak, feeble, or infirm
especially
: physical weakness
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