enervate

/ˌɛn.ə(ɹ)ˈveɪt/

//ˌɛn.ə(ɹ)ˈveɪt// verb

"enervate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“enervate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To reduce strength or energy; debilitate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-enervate · enervate · English

enervate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for enervate
PropertyValue
Headwordenervate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌɛn.ə(ɹ)ˈveɪt/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “enervate” in English

enervatesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

enervate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌɛn.ə(ɹ)ˈveɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for enervate, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin ēnervātus, past participle of ēnervō (“to weaken”). The correct English form is enervate, spelled E-N-E-R-V-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To reduce strength or energy; debilitate.
  2. 2
    To weaken morally or mentally.
  3. 3
    To partially or completely remove a nerve.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how enervate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. After being laid off three times in a row, she felt too enervated to look for another job.

Etymology

From Latin ēnervātus, past participle of ēnervō (“to weaken”).

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "enervate"?
"enervate" is spelled E-N-E-R-V-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɛn.ə(ɹ)ˈveɪt/.
What does "enervate" mean?
As a verb, "enervate" means: To reduce strength or energy; debilitate.
How do you pronounce "enervate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "enervate" is /ˌɛn.ə(ɹ)ˈveɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "enervate"?
From Latin ēnervātus, past participle of ēnervō (“to weaken”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list