en·er·vate ( n r-v t )tr.v. en·er·vat·ed, en·er·vat·ing, en·er·vates 1. To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: "the luxury which enervates and destroys nations" Henry David Thoreau. See Synonyms at deplete. 2. Medicine To remove a nerve or part of a nerve.
[Latin nerv re, nerv t- : -, ex-, ex- + nervus, sinew; see (s)ne u- in Indo-European roots.]
en er·va tion n. en er·va tive adj. en er·va tor n. Usage Note: Sometimes people mistakenly use enervate to mean "to invigorate" or "to excite" by assuming that this word is a close cousin of the verb energize. In fact enervate does not come from the same source as energize (Greek energos, "active"). It comes from Latin nervus, "sinew." Thus enervate means "to cause to become 'out of muscle'," that is, "to weaken or deplete of strength." |
enervate Verb
[-vating, -vated] to deprive of strength or vitality [Latin enervare to remove the nerves from]
enervating adj
enervation n
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Verb | 1. | enervate - weaken mentally or morallyweaken - lessen the strength of; "The fever weakened his body" |
| 2. | enervate - disturb the composure ofunman - cause to lose one's nerve; "an unmanning experience" |