How to Use debilitate in a Sentence

debilitate

verb
  • The virus debilitates the body's immune system.
  • Dustin revealed to his friend just how debilitating his grief has been.
    — Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025
  • These wounds cause debilitating pain and can remain open for years.
    — Greg Licholai Md, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Because that is debilitating, and so hard to get over.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Feb. 2026
  • But what about the not-so-glamorous parts, like living with loose skin or debilitating pain?
    — Samantha Lauriello, Health, 3 Nov. 2023
  • And that should be the crime of the century, and that is debilitating.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Watson dove in to save his closest friend but suffered a debilitating blow to the head from a rock.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Even those who do make it to a doctor can emerge with long-lasting, sometimes debilitating pain.
    — WIRED, 16 Aug. 2023
  • This sense of acceptance is debilitating in its own way.
    — Saumya Roy, The Dial, 6 Jan. 2026
  • And yet, in the overall picture of a program’s progress, a loss would not be debilitating.
    — George Schroeder, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2019
  • Mandie Moore's young sons have the same debilitating rare disease.
    — Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2024
  • Utley had to will himself to play through debilitating hip and knee issues.
    — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
  • My God, debilitating back pain is the absolute worst pain in the world.
    — Danielle Tullo, House Beautiful, 25 May 2018
  • Patients often suffer debilitating pain from the skin rash caused by the virus.
    — Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
  • For the couple getting married, the stress of the event can be debilitating.
    — Bobby Finger june 16, Literary Hub, 16 June 2026
  • The chart-topping vocal star has not been able to drum for years because of debilitating health issues.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Dec. 2023
  • As the cash keeps flowing, the risk of a debilitating crash seems to only be increasing.
    — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
  • At this point, the past few debilitating weeks have sapped the energy of the most chatty members.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Even if they were released, would the scars of imprisonment debilitate them?
    — Missy Ryan, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2019
  • Yet in the heart of Texas the news is not seen as unexpected, or debilitating.
    — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 31 May 2016
  • Still, the result remains hard to predict, not least because the debilitating heat wave could drive down turnout.
    — Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 July 2023
  • There's new hope for children living with debilitating pain.
    — Lauren Pastrana, CBS News, 15 Dec. 2025
  • These diagnoses helped explain his years of debilitating pain — and gave him a path forward.
    — Angelina Liu, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • If left unchecked, these maladaptive thought patterns can lead to debilitating levels of burnout and stress.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024
  • And, in the past month, truck drivers staged massive strikes to protest against abysmally low salaries and debilitating fuel hikes.
    — Nuri Kino, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
  • There was a debilitating back injury in his 20s.
    — Mo Rocca, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
  • Her initial four-and-a-half-hour procedure went well, but a debilitating stroke the next day left her unable to speak or move.
    — Gillian Telling, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
  • The goal is to contain it and to allow patients to live longer without debilitating symptoms.
    — The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2025
  • But for the singer-songwriter, being so much in the public eye, the wrong hue became debilitating.
    — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 14 Nov. 2023
  • Now that both areas have been debilitated, Sims hopes that the industry finds a new way forward.
    — Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'debilitate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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