enfeeble

English

Alternative forms

• infeeble (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English enfeblen, from Old French enfeblir. Constructed like en- ‎ feeble.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfiːbəl/
• Rhymes: -iːbəl

Verb

enfeeble (third-person singular simple present enfeebles, present participle enfeebling, simple past and past participle enfeebled)

1. (transitive) To make feeble.
   • 1774, Dr Samuel Johnson, Preface to the Works of the English Poets, J. Nichols, Volume II, Page 130,

     "...the gout, with which he had long been tormented, prevailed over the enfeebled powers of nature."

   • 2014 September 8, Michael White, “Roll up, roll up! The Amazing Salmond will show a Scotland you won't believe”, in The Guardian:

     In the face of enfeebled, self-harming opposition on both sides of the border (and a miserable economic recession on both sides too) he has performed brilliantly.

   • 2022 January 13, Mark Joseph Stern, “The Supreme Court Had No Legal Reason to Block Biden’s Workplace Vaccine Rules”, in Slate:

     The Republican-appointed justices may yet enfeeble the executive branch’s ability to implement federal law.

Synonyms

• weaken

Translations

make feeble

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 削弱 (zh) (xuēruò)

• Finnish: heikentää (fi)
• French: affaiblir (fr)
• German: schwächen (de)
• Irish: anbhainnigh, díneartaigh
• Maori: whakaiwikore
• Middle English: feblen, enfeblen
• Russian: ослабля́ть (ru) impf (oslabljátʹ), осла́бить (ru) pf (oslábitʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: lagaich
• Spanish: debilitar (es)