ENERVATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does enervate mean? 

• ENERVATE (verb)
  The verb ENERVATE has 2 senses:

1. weaken mentally or morally

2. disturb the composure of

  Familiarity information: ENERVATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ENERVATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they enervate    ... he / she / it enervates   
Past simple: enervated   
Past participle: enervated   
-ing form: enervating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Weaken mentally or morally

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "enervate" is one way to...):

weaken (lessen the strength of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

enervation (lack of vitality)

enervation (serious weakening and loss of energy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Disturb the composure of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

enervate; faze; unnerve; unsettle

Hypernyms (to "enervate" is one way to...):

discomfit; discompose; disconcert; untune; upset (cause to lose one's composure)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "enervate"):

unman (cause to lose one's nerve)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

The bad news will enervate him

 Context examples 

When you are at Madagascar, or at the Cape, or in India, would it be a consolation to have that memento in your possession? or would the sight of it bring recollections calculated to enervate and distress?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)