ENERVATING Synonyms: 206 Similar and Opposite Words

enervating 1 of 2

adjective

as in exhausting

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Dissimilar Words

enervating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of enervate

as in undermining

to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality a lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in weakening

to diminish the physical strength of the surgery really enervated me for weeks afterwards

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of enervating

Verb

Campbell, the North Carolina folk singer, describes an enervating process marked by back-and-forth exchanges and lots of waiting. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026 Jenny deflected me with enervating ease. — Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026 The results are often enervating though sometimes clumsy. — Eli Enis, Pitchfork, 3 Feb. 2026 This may reframe his friend’s enervating habit. — Hope Hunt, Baltimore Sun, 30 Jan. 2026 Some of these values—such as a disciplined commitment to physical fitness—are good and, in my opinion, necessary correctives to the enervating distractions of 21st-century living. — Dan Brooks, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025 Looming over all of it has been the sad, enervating situation with Alexander Isak, forever enshrined as a club legend by dint of Wembley last season but now beyond the point of tarnishing that legacy. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025 That shock is severely dampened by Hickey’s enervating pacing; there is nothing steady about the build here, the line graph of the production instead one of sudden lurches. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples of Synonyms for enervating

Adjective

The treatment routine my dermatologist recommended was exhausting.

— Mackenzie Johnson, Glamour, 22 Oct. 2026
After the exhausting discourse and soft opening-week numbers, that certainly wasn’t the ideal conclusion to the first few weeks of the Blue Island rollout.

— Kyle Denis, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of exhausting

Verb

Both fringe and mainstream conservatives have portrayed Indian Americans as stealing high-paying tech jobs from white workers and undermining American unity.

— Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 22 Oct. 2026
Chapek made Iger a starring character in his own memoir, blaming him for undermining his leadership after selecting him for the top job.

— Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of undermining

Verb

OpenAI disclosed a pair of safety incidents that involved AI agents weakening their safety monitoring systems during internal coding tasks.

— Emma Roth, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile, weakening brand loyalty threatens an advantage established manufacturers have relied on for decades.

— Matthew Tan, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of weakening

Adjective

Most other feeders can send dozens, if not hundreds, of clips to your phone each day, which can be more fatiguing than relaxing to go through.

— Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 27 Sep. 2026
But the most mentally fatiguing aspect, the work found, was having to constantly supervise the AI tools, with some employees overseeing multiple AI agents performing different tasks at the same time.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 12 Mar. 2026

Definition of fatiguing

Verb

That means removing plants, mud and debris from boats, trailers and equipment; draining water from compartments; and allowing equipment to dry completely.

— Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Secretly draining shared savings or hiding major debt are obvious betrayals.

— Jenna Ryu, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of draining

Verb

Medik8 Advanced Night Ceramide is a rich overnight cream that helps replenish dry skin while softening the look of crepiness, fine lines, and rough texture.

— Christa Joanna Lee, Glamour, 23 Oct. 2026
Scientists at the Beckman Institute have been tracking levels of plastic-softening phthalates in the blood of children since before they were born up until age 11.

— Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of softening

Adjective

According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), threats to these sectors can create debilitating impacts on the economy, public health and safety.

— Julie Song, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
That’s a good thing, in the sense that even if a child is infected, the vast majority do not develop debilitating, and potentially fatal, consequences.

— Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of debilitating

Verb

Inside the cabin, extensive additional sound deadening in the doors, trunk and wheel arches means phone calls and passenger conversations are entirely effortless at highway speeds.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026
Each presents a group portrait of a handful of disaffected British suburbanites—husbands who resent their deadening jobs, toddlers who whine and interrupt, and, above all, hassled wives subsumed by a crush of household obligations.

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of deadening

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enervates

enervating

enervation

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Style

“Enervating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enervating. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of enervating

adjective

verb

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