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
-
Fed officials are closely monitoring inflation and the labor market for signs of a potentially weakening economy.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
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
Verb
-
The easy, and true, earlier justifications about who attacked whom, and about whether Vladimir Putin should be allowed free rein of Europe, faded into cliché.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
The New Yorker,
7 Mar. 2025
-
But when Yvonne develops troubling symptoms from a tick bite, the rural paradise fades away revealing a breeding ground for a disturbing new life.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The Vikings went undefeated in the DuKane Conference and won a regional title.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Mar. 2025
-
While holding onto resentment—or ignoring reality—can lead to distance and anger, letting go allows couples to move forward without carrying the weight of baggage.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The different firmness levels ensure that the mattress will never sag, regardless of the sleeper’s body type.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Finally, King notes, check the basement or crawlspace for damp areas, standing water, mold, or sagging floor joists.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
26 Feb. 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
-
The Starship rocket also failed minutes after launching from SpaceX's Texas facility in January, with falling debris causing damage to properties on the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
Unfortunately for SpaceX, the Starship upper stage failed again, in a similar location, with similar impacts.—
Eric Berger,
Ars Technica,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Emaciate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emaciate. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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