Word of the Day

: January 19, 2022

debilitating

adjective dih-BILL-uh-tay-ting

What It Means

Debilitating means "causing serious impairment of strength or ability to function."

// The flu can be debilitating for several days.

See the entry >

debilitating in Context

"Smartphone addiction is a real thing, and it can be really debilitating. This rings even more true in the context of the global pandemic when millions upon millions of people are basically stuck at home with nothing else to do." — RJ Pierce, Tech Times, 13 Dec. 2021

Did You Know?

The verb debilitate (and its adjective form debilitating) comes from the Latin word for "weak," debilis. Often used of disease—as in, "the patient was debilitated"—it can also suggest something that strikes like a disease or illness, "the actor was debilitated by stage fright." In sum, the word suggests a temporary impairment or a condition of weakness and helplessness.