enervate (redirected from enervations)

en·er·vate  (nr-vt)

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.

adj. (-nûrvt)

Deprived of strength; debilitated.

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[Latin nervre, nervt- : -, ex-, ex- + nervus, sinew; see (s)neu- in Indo-European roots.]

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ener·vation n.

ener·vative adj.

ener·vator 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."

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enervate

Verb

[-vating, -vated] to deprive of strength or vitality [Latin enervare to remove the nerves from]

enervating adj
enervation n

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	enervate - weaken mentally or morally weaken - lessen the strength of; "The fever weakened his body"
	2.	enervate - disturb the composure of faze, unnerve, unsettle unman - cause to lose one's nerve; "an unmanning experience" discomfit, discompose, untune, upset, disconcert - cause to lose one's composure