enervate 1 of 2

enervate

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adjective

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

Examples 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
  • Many businesses are unaware of the extent to which artificially inflated OTP traffic undermines their operations due to the sheer complexities and inherent risks of telecommunication.
    Ethan Stone, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Without this context, the accuracy of risk assessments is undermined.
    Philip Caldwell, Baltimore Sun, 12 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The widening yield differentials between Chinese and U.S. sovereign bonds could risk encouraging capital outflows and put further pressure on the yuan that has been weakening against the greenback.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Elon Musk, one of Trump’s confidants, has already met with Iran’s UN ambassador; now that Israel has weakened Tehran and pummeled its proxies in the Middle East, a diplomatic breakthrough may be achievable.
    Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The antihero actioner earned a feeble $4.7 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,211 locations.
    J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Those with muscle dysmorphia usually have a belief or preoccupation that their body is weak, feeble, too small, or not muscular enough.
    Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 3 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • While Valverde was brought off in the 74th minute of the Super Cup semi final win against Mallorca on Thursday, Bellingham was seen going to the turf exhausted on more than one occasion and touching the back of his legs.
    Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
  • Backlash to the backlash emerged on Thursday, as many users pointed out that fire resources had been exhausted in the Palisades.
    Matt Donnelly, Variety, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Can a crispy chicken sandwich or a whisky cocktail soften the blow of existential despair?
    Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
  • The surge in immigrants arriving in Colorado last year softened the enrollment decline in the state’s public schools, which for years have been losing students — and funding — as birth rates fall across the nation.
    Jessica Seaman, The Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • And, if more private schools did open in rural areas, that would drain enrollment from public schools that often served as centers of the community.
    Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Cornell said the next step is to drain the New Glenn rocket of its fuel.
    Jackie Wattles, CNN, 13 Jan. 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
  • Punctuated by languid guitar lines, this sadder-than-sad gem creates the perfect backdrop for her gorgeous voice to shine through.
    Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Here, long, languid meals have a habit of turning into heady (and nerdy) chats with staffers about sourcing and sustainability or special visits to the gardens or impromptu tastings in the wine cellar.
    Nicholas DeRenzo, AFAR Media, 27 Dec. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Enervate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervate. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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