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

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
Verb
  • However, critics worry bringing minority parties into the majority tent weakens legislative scrutiny.
    Charlie Campbell, TIME, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Beijing has also been working to repair ties with American allies like Japan to try to weaken the security alliances forged by the Biden administration to constrain China.
    David Pierson, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Opportunities were fewer and further between after that as City began to pick apart Chelsea’s feeble press, but three minutes before his substitution, Jackson was sent into a one-on-one with Stones in the left channel.
    Sam Lee, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025
  • Each, in its own way, has exposed the feeble condition of progressive politics.
    Ian Tuttle, National Review, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • But the last of those emergency dollars are being exhausted this fiscal year and won’t be available to help in the next two-year state budget, which Lamont will propose to lawmakers on Feb. 5.
    Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 23 Jan. 2025
  • Two of those teenagers, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, lay flat on their backs at full time, exhausted by yet another 90 minutes.
    Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • In people who give birth, this joint softens and becomes extra flexible.
    Bethany Brookshire, Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2025
  • Alcohol softened the blow of a loss and got players opening up to each other about the game.
    Joshua Kloke, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • During her post-surgery recovery, simple tasks like bending over became incredibly difficult, leaving her feeling both physically and emotionally drained.
    Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
  • The result is a graceful character study that explores why someone’s capacity for warmth seems to have long been drained.
    Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 24 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
  • Each of the 67 rooms boasts charming village and serene harbor views, and some even have their own private patios to take a languid coffee in the morning.
    Ariel Okin, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Louche, languid tailoring has become a major trend in Milan and Florence.
    Luisa Zargani, WWD, 21 Jan. 2025

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Thesaurus Entries Near enervate

Cite this Entry

“Enervate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervate. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.

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