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YOUR VOCABULARY, ONE WORD AT A TIME

enervate

Verb

IPA /ˈenəveɪt/

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Meaning in plain English

To drain someone's energy or strength, leaving them feeling weak and tired and less able to act effectively.

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Pronunciation

enervate/ˈenəveɪt/

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  1. You begin with energy

  2. Relentless heat drains your strength

  3. You feel weak and tired

To enervate someone is to take away their energy, not give them more.

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  1. The relentless afternoon heat enervated us, and we abandoned the walk.
  2. Weeks of uncertainty enervated the team before the project even began.

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To drain someone's energy or strength, leaving them feeling weak and tired and less able to act effectively.
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enervate — To drain someone's energy or strength, leaving them feeling weak and tired and less able to act effectively.

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To drain someone's energy or strength, leaving them feeling weak and tired and less able to act effectively.

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Word origin

From Latin enervare, meaning weaken, formed from elements meaning out of and sinew.

Did you know?

Enervating is used to describe something draining, such as an oppressive climate.

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enervate

/ˈenəveɪt/ (Verb)

“Enervate is formal and means weaken, not energise. The first syllable carries the main stress.”

englishskillstudio.com