enervating

en·er·vate

 (ĕn′ər-vāt′)

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).

2. Medicine To remove a nerve or part of a nerve.

adj. (ĭ-nûr′vĭt)

Deprived of strength; debilitated.

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[Latin ēnervāre, ēnervāt- : ē-, ex-, ex- + nervus, sinew; see (s)neəu- in Indo-European roots.]

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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."

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

enervating

(ˈɛnəˌveɪtɪŋ)

adj

tending to deprive of strength or vitality; physically or mentally weakening; debilitating

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

enervating - causing debilitation debilitative, enfeebling, weakening debilitating - impairing the strength and vitality

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

enervating

adjective weakening, tiring, draining, exhausting, debilitating an appalling and enervating disease

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

snervante

enervating

[ˈenɜːveɪtɪŋ] ADJ → enervador

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

enervating

[ˈɛnə^rveɪtɪŋ] adj (= weakening) → débilitant(e), affaiblissant(e)enfant terrible [ˌɒnfɒntɛˈriːblə] n → enfant mf terrible

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

enervating

adj → strapazierend

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

enervating

[ˈɛnəˌveɪtɪŋ] adj → snervante

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995