debilitate
/dəˈbɪləteɪt/verb
debilitate is spelled D-E-B-I-L-I-T-A-T-E: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 20 million words in written English, the 134,976th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, debilitate means “To make feeble; to weaken” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in debilitate?
| Letters | 10: D-E-B-I-L-I-T-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 20 million words; the 134,976th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is debilitate?
Debilitate appears about once in every 20 million words in written English, the 134,976th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce debilitate?
- UK /dɪˈbɪlɪteɪt/
- US /dəˈbɪləteɪt/
Debilitate has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-debilitate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of debilitate
- debilitates present, singular, he/she/it
- debilitating participle, present
- debilitated participle, past
- more debilitate comparative
- most debilitate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does debilitate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make feeble; to weaken.
The American Dream suffered a debilitating effect after the subprime crisis.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteFeeble, enfeebled.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Debilitate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to make feeble; to weaken:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | débiliter |
| German | an den Kräften zehren, schwächen, entkräften |
| Spanish | debilitar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does debilitate come from?
From debilitatus, the past passive participle of Latin dēbilitō (“to weaken, debilitate”), from the adjective dēbilis (“weak”), itself from de- + habilis (“able”). Equivalent to Latin dēbilitō + -ate (verb-forming suffix; adjective-forming suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).