ENERVATE Synonyms: 144 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the verb 'enervate' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of enervate are emasculate , unman , and unnerve . While all these words mean "to deprive of strength or vigor and the capacity for effective action," enervate suggests a gradual physical or moral weakening (as through luxury or indolence) until one is too feeble to make an effort. // a nation's youth enervated by affluence and leisure

Q: When would 'emasculate' be a good substitute for 'enervate'?

The synonyms emasculate and enervate are sometimes interchangeable, but emasculate stresses a depriving of characteristic force by removing something essential. // an amendment that emasculates existing safeguards

Q: Where would 'unman' be a reasonable alternative to 'enervate'?

Although the words unman and enervate have much in common, unman implies a loss of manly vigor, fortitude, or spirit. // a soldier unmanned by the terrors of battle

Q: In what contexts can 'unnerve' take the place of 'enervate'?

While in some cases nearly identical to enervate , unnerve implies marked often temporary loss of courage, self-control, or power to act. // unnerved by the near collision

enervate 1 of 2

verb

ˈe-nər-ˌvāt

Definition of enervate next

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

as in to weaken

to diminish the physical strength of the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

enervate

2 of 2

adjective

as in feeble

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

undecadent

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb enervate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of enervate are emasculate, unman, and unnerve. While all these words mean "to deprive of strength or vigor and the capacity for effective action," enervate suggests a gradual physical or moral weakening (as through luxury or indolence) until one is too feeble to make an effort.

a nation's youth enervated by affluence and leisure

When would emasculate be a good substitute for enervate?

The synonyms emasculate and enervate are sometimes interchangeable, but emasculate stresses a depriving of characteristic force by removing something essential.

an amendment that emasculates existing safeguards

Where would unman be a reasonable alternative to enervate?

Although the words unman and enervate have much in common, unman implies a loss of manly vigor, fortitude, or spirit.

a soldier unmanned by the terrors of battle

In what contexts can unnerve take the place of enervate?

While in some cases nearly identical to enervate, unnerve implies marked often temporary loss of courage, self-control, or power to act.

unnerved by the near collision

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of enervate

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

As Coursera's Chief Content Officer Marni Baker-Stein emphasizes, this profound gender gap in AI and data science, where women represent just 22% of professionals, undermines both social equity and the effectiveness of AI technology development.

— Bernard Marr, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
After all, starting a North American trade war would undermine Trump’s promises to turbocharge the US economy and attack the cost of living.

— Matt Egan, CNN, 24 Jan. 2025