ˈwēkən verb
( weakened ; weakened ; weakening -k(ə)niŋ ; weakens )
Etymology: weak (I) + -en
transitive verb
1. : to make weak : lessen the strength of : enfeeble
disease weakens the body
fatigue weakened his grip
wetting weakens paper
floodwaters weakened the foundations of the bridge
doubts weakened his resolve
hypotheses which … weaken rather than affirm purely mechanistic interpretations of nature — J.W.Krutch
2. : to reduce in intensity or effectiveness
milk weakened one half to two thirds with plain boiled water — Morris Fishbein
intransitive verb
1. : to become weak
steadily weakening storm
: lose strength or spirit or determination : become less firm or resolute
the Middle West was weakening in its allegiance to the Democratic party — American Guide Series: Ind.
2. : to change from a complex to a simple sound (as from a diphthong to a long vowel) : change from a strong to a weak sound : change from an open to a close vowel
Synonyms:
weaken , enfeeble , debilitate , undermine , sap , cripple , disable can mean, in common, to lose or cause to lose strength, vigor, or energy. : weaken , the most general of the group, signifies the loss of physical strength, soundness, or stability, or, in extension, of quality, intensity, or effective power
weakened by failing health — C.H.Lincoln
the days and nights of dissipation had weakened and depressed him — Louis Bromfield
has left rural churches weakened in numbers and financial resources — American Guide Series: New York
the spirit of adventure is not stimulated but weakened by poverty — M.R.Cohen
enfeeble implies a more obvious condition, usually suggesting a helplessness or feebleness or forcelessness
despite an enfeebled body, the mental faculties … can remain intact to the very end of life — Current Biography
can excessive reading actually enfeeble one's thinking apparatus — A.N.Whitehead
the years had not enfeebled his acting — E.H.Collis
debilitate suggests a less marked, usually more temporary, impairment of strength or vitality
ivy debilitates trees, disintegrates mortar in walls and dislodges roof tiles — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox
avoid embroilments which debilitate our strength — Current Biography
the fears and the rages that debilitate — H.A.Overstreet
undermine and sap suggest a weakening by the effects of some surreptitious or insidious force, often carrying the idea of a draining of strength or a slow caving in or breaking down
the members of his family undermined by dissipation, crime and madness — Times Literary Supplement
the emotions which would have undermined and demoralized him had he not sworn beforehand to abjure that — Marcia Davenport
a gradual oxidation of the rubber thread which undermines the quality of the rubber — Albert Thompson & Sigfrid Bick
cripple , meaning basically to maim or mutilate, suggests a serious impairment of force or effect similar to if not greater than that caused by a loss of a limb to a person
the brain-injury victims, i.e., those who have been crippled by such things as blows, encephalitis, or a sustained high fever in infancy — Time
a heavy winter snowfall cripples transportation — Corey Ford
disable implies any force that makes unfit or which incapacitates, especially suddenly
disabled for field work by an accident which resulted in the loss of his right leg — C.W.Mitman
disabled the car so it wouldn't run — W.W.Haines
an indifferent memory disabled him from mastering the Indian languages — Francis Parkman