enervate

Verb

WordNet 3.0

Verb (2)

  1. weaken mentally or morally
  2. disturb the composure ofSynonyms: fazeunnerveunsettle
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Enervate \E*ner"vate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Enervated; p. pr. & vb. n. Enervating.] [L. enervatus, p. p. of enervare, fr. enervis nerveless, weak; e out + nervus nerve. See Nerve.] To deprive of nerve, force, strength, or courage; to render feeble or impotent; to make effeminate; to impair the moral powers of. [1913 Webster]

A man . . . enervated by licentiousness. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

And rhyme began t' enervate poetry. --Dryden.

Syn: To weaken; enfeeble; unnerve; debilitate. [1913 Webster]


Enervate \E*ner"vate\, a. [L. enervatus, p. p.] Weakened; weak; without strength of force. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
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