Word: enervate (verb)

Associations

"Enervate" means to weaken or drain energy from someone or something. It is often used in formal or literary contexts.

• The hot sun enervated the hikers, making them tired and slow. Here, "enervate" shows physical weakness caused by heat.
• The long speech enervated the audience, leaving them bored and tired. This shows mental or emotional weakening.
• A serious illness can enervate a person, reducing their strength. This is about health and energy loss. Synonym: "weaken." The difference is that "enervate" often implies a gradual or subtle loss of energy or strength, while "weaken" is more general and can refer to physical, mental, or structural loss of strength.

Substitution

You can replace "enervate" with:

• weaken — more common, general use.
• exhaust — focuses more on making someone very tired.
• drain — emphasizes taking away energy or resources. Changing the word can affect the tone: "enervate" sounds more formal or literary, while "weaken" and "exhaust" are more everyday.

Deconstruction

"Enervate" comes from Latin "enervatus," past participle of "enervare," meaning "to weaken."

• Prefix "e-" means "out of" or "from."
• Root "nerv-" means "nerve" or "strength." So, "enervate" literally means "to take the nerves out," or to remove strength or energy.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a situation where you felt enervated? Was it physical or mental?
• How would you describe a character in a story who is enervated? What words would you use?
• When might you choose "enervate" instead of "weaken" in writing or speaking? Why?