as in to weaken
to lose bodily strength or vigor
without adequate medical supplies, doctors could only look on helplessly as cholera victims continued to emaciate
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Recent Examples of emaciate
At barely five pounds, Matilda was emaciated and clinging to life when the Monmouth County Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took her in.
—
Kathleen Hopkins, USA TODAY, 30 May 2023
Six dead giraffes, bodies emaciated from the lack of food and water, photographed by Ed Ram, show the horror of Kenya’s prolonged ongoing drought, which has threatened and displaced animals and humans alike.
—Nell Lewis, CNN, 29 Mar. 2023
Past herds of cows wandering through busy settlements along the highway in search of water, so emaciated their ribs were showing.
—Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2023
Many were emaciated, unlike the examples in the current study.
—Joshua Sokol, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2020
Three of them were severely malnourished and the rest were emaciated, according to the Sheriff's Office.
—James Carr, azcentral, 21 Feb. 2020
Detectives noted that much of the food in the home was locked away and that James' body was emaciated when found.
—Sarah Sarder, Houston Chronicle, 18 Feb. 2020
Scores of common murres, one of the most prolific seabirds, washed up on beaches, and many were emaciated, the researchers said.
—oregonlive, 21 Jan. 2020
The 6-month-old calico and her sibling were found to be emaciated, with low body temperatures and stomach issues.
—Arizona Republic, azcentral, 22 Nov. 2019
Kathleen Hopkins, USA TODAY, 30 May 2023
Six dead giraffes, bodies emaciated from the lack of food and water, photographed by Ed Ram, show the horror of Kenya’s prolonged ongoing drought, which has threatened and displaced animals and humans alike.
—Nell Lewis, CNN, 29 Mar. 2023
Past herds of cows wandering through busy settlements along the highway in search of water, so emaciated their ribs were showing.
—Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2023
Many were emaciated, unlike the examples in the current study.
—Joshua Sokol, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2020
Three of them were severely malnourished and the rest were emaciated, according to the Sheriff's Office.
—James Carr, azcentral, 21 Feb. 2020
Detectives noted that much of the food in the home was locked away and that James' body was emaciated when found.
—Sarah Sarder, Houston Chronicle, 18 Feb. 2020
Scores of common murres, one of the most prolific seabirds, washed up on beaches, and many were emaciated, the researchers said.
—oregonlive, 21 Jan. 2020
The 6-month-old calico and her sibling were found to be emaciated, with low body temperatures and stomach issues.
—Arizona Republic, azcentral, 22 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emaciate
Verb
-
Consumers are already losing confidence and pulling back on spending, weakening a key engine of the economy.—
Axios,
Axios,
11 Mar. 2025
-
In an all-staff e-mail, Dudek wrote: Criticism, contempt, stonewalling, and defensiveness are the four forces that can end any relationship and weaken any institution. . .—
E. Tammy Kim,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The possible explanatory layers overwhelm, and so there’s an honesty to how the series opts to focus on the devastation instead, fading out on the image of the Miller family torn apart and Eddie breaking down on Jamie’s bed.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
-
Now, Trump's personal and fading legal troubles—combined with his brash policies concerning issues like immigration, executive power, and corporate regulations—are once again driving people to law school.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
18 Mar. 2025
Verb
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If that snood suddenly shortens, your gobbler has gone from relaxed to alert, and the jig might be up.—
Alice Jones Webb,
Outdoor Life,
21 Mar. 2025
-
That game was just the start of an epic back-and-forth that’s seen the coaches meet in two Final Fours — and win one apiece; go head-to-head in the NBA and Conference USA; and later share a state when Pitino led Louisville and Calipari helmed Kentucky.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Now’s a good time to mention my other chronic pain, pain that isn’t related to my sagging breasts.—
Nicola Dall'Asen,
Allure,
12 Mar. 2025
-
Numerous auto industry analysts have attributed Tesla's recent sagging stock—and auto sales—to Musk's support of Trump and other far right candidates around the world.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
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What doesn’t decay this winter can be mulched up next spring.—
Jeff Lowenfels,
Anchorage Daily News,
22 Sep. 2022
-
In particular, many theorists have wondered how the great complexity of life can be reconciled with the laws of thermodynamics that suggest that all systems must inevitably decay to a state of greatest disorder.—
The Physics arXiv Blog,
Discover Magazine,
29 Apr. 2022
Verb
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Alas, the thick-headed goon that Vito sends to whack Frank in the lobby of his lux Manhattan apartment building (a swollen and unrecognizable Cosmo Jarvis as the aptly named Vincent Gigante) fails to follow through with a double-tap, and Frank survives with a scratch to the head.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 2025
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Organizations that fail to measure impact and ROI may risk losing executive support and budget.—
Ryan Austin,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Emaciate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emaciate. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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