1
as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
a lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to weaken
to diminish the physical strength of
the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in feeble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of enervate
Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 28 Feb. 2021
The saving grace of this often enervating thriller is that Doscher grants time for his actors to build character and intimacy, and both Pinto and Odom offer warm, affectingly natural performances as two people facing the end of their world.
—Teo Bugbee, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2020
To a great extent, that reflects the endless, enervating nature of the Brexit debate.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2020
Jack’s enervating recovery in The Way Back is full of drab, predictable pathos instead of the stylized drama in Dawn of Justice.
—Armond White, National Review, 6 Mar. 2020
Perhaps the most intimate of these photographs presents her after a shower, wet and enervated, rubbing a cloth across her reflection in a mirror, as though the condensation were crud.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2020
Then again, enervating her supporters has been Madonna’s M.O. in recent years.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 3 July 2019
But the art which resists the slow sap of a chronic disease—which repairs frames enervated by lust, swollen by gluttony, or inflamed by wine . .
—Chris Pope, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2019
Such behavior is particularly enervating when the West aims to bring new countries into permanent and universal—that is, Western-style—guarantees of security and systems of relations.
—I. William Zartman, WSJ, 24 June 2018
Verb
This relationship, when successful, tends to enervate mediating institutions that thwart the immediate desires of both the populist leader and the public.
—Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 28 Feb. 2021
The saving grace of this often enervating thriller is that Doscher grants time for his actors to build character and intimacy, and both Pinto and Odom offer warm, affectingly natural performances as two people facing the end of their world.
—Teo Bugbee, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2020
To a great extent, that reflects the endless, enervating nature of the Brexit debate.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2020
Jack’s enervating recovery in The Way Back is full of drab, predictable pathos instead of the stylized drama in Dawn of Justice.
—Armond White, National Review, 6 Mar. 2020
Perhaps the most intimate of these photographs presents her after a shower, wet and enervated, rubbing a cloth across her reflection in a mirror, as though the condensation were crud.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2020
Then again, enervating her supporters has been Madonna’s M.O. in recent years.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 3 July 2019
But the art which resists the slow sap of a chronic disease—which repairs frames enervated by lust, swollen by gluttony, or inflamed by wine . .
—Chris Pope, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2019
Such behavior is particularly enervating when the West aims to bring new countries into permanent and universal—that is, Western-style—guarantees of security and systems of relations.
—I. William Zartman, WSJ, 24 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enervate
Verb
-
There are eight issues that have begun to undermine the stock market's shaky support.—
John S. Tobey,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
-
His brave stand, like the legendary Dutch hero whose finger in the dike blocked a flood, still holds back the efforts of Putin, Xi Jinping, and their allies to undermine democracy — in the Baltics, Poland, Western Europe, and Taiwan, and in Trump’s United States.—
Trudy Rubin,
The Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
In the fourth quarter of 2024, WK Kellogg reported net sales of $640 million, a decrease of 1.7% compared to $651 million in the same period in 2023, impacted by a 5.6% volume decline and a 40 basis point headwind from the weakening Canadian dollar.—
Joe Cornell,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
-
But the Trump administration's new cuts further weaken a banking watchdog that has been sounding the alarm for years about its decreasing ability to prevent future banking crises.—
Maria Aspan,
NPR,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Jobson, the college sophomore, fainted on deck, and Ward Weimar, the Dartmouth student, became too feeble to handle the wheel.—
David Wolman,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Breath fogs the air, ice slicks the roads, and the sun seems a distant, feeble glow in the winter sky.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes,
4 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
But by 2011, they were exhausted by seven solid years of touring and recording.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
1 Mar. 2025
-
Like state government, municipalities also have exhausted most of their emergency federal pandemic aid.—
Jessika Harkay,
Hartford Courant,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
That helps to soften some of the graphic imagery, but the director says his primary intent was to allow viewers to experience the perspectives of kids.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
21 Feb. 2025
-
Following weeks of negotiations, during which DeSantis seemed to soften his attacks on the lawmakers who opposed his plans, the governor signed the sweeping package of immigration laws on February 13.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The swamp is not being drained; it’s being filled with more water than the Panama Canal.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2025
-
Patrick Reed drained a hole-in-one at the 'Watering Hole,' which sent fans into a frenzy.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
America’s morning television brightens the day but deadens the soul.—
Joel Golby,
airmail.news,
5 Oct. 2024
-
One way of deadening the mind to distractions is by blowing opponents off the court.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes,
5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
This more logistical plot thread proves surprisingly languid for a such a nanoscopic feature, but Kang plays with its withdrawn qualities in fascinating ways.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
19 Feb. 2025
-
Martin, ever elegant but rarely a wildly expressive actor, could perhaps do with showing a bit more emotional urgency here to sharpen the interplay with Tom, especially in this naturally languid seaside backdrop.—
Nicolas Rapold,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Enervate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervate. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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