enervateadj.

/ɪˈnəːvət/

Forms: Also 1700s ennervate.

Etymology: < Latin ēnervātus, past participle of ēnervāre : see enervate v.

a. Wanting in strength of character; spiritless, unmanly, effeminate.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > sex and gender > female > effeminacy > [adjective]

womanly?c1225

ferbleta1300

effeminatea1393

nicea1393

softc1450

manlessa1529

unmanly1534

cockney1573

effeminated1580

unmanlikea1586

milky1602

enervate1603

womanizing1615

emasculate1622

womanized1624

softly1643

womanlish1647

unmasculine1649

emollid1656

ladylike1656

enervated1660

emasculated1701

petticoated1708

tea-faced1728

effeminized1789

invirile1870

epicene1881

sissyish1889

sissified1898

devirilized1901

cockless1902

camp1909

pansy1929

campy1932

queenly1933

poncy1937

pansyish1941

swishy1941

moffie1954

poofy1956

femme1963

poofed-up1964

minty1965

ponced-up1970

lavender1979

1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 11 They waxe carelesse, dissolute, and enervate.

1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe ii. 21 The dregs and droppings of enervate Love.

1749 J. Warton Ode West's Pindar (T.) Away enervate bards, away.

1774 O. Goldsmith Grecian Hist. I. v.* 176 We are to behold an ennervate and factious populace.

1822 W. Wordsworth Eccl. Sonn. i. ix, in Poet. Wks. IV. 201 The Pictish cloud darkens the enervate land By Rome abandoned.

1830 Fraser's Mag. 1 515 The enervate candidates for place and patronage.

b. of artistic style, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [adjective] > qualities of works generally

wateryc1230

polite?a1500

meagre1539

over-laboured1579

bald1589

spiritless1592

light1597

meretricious1633

standing1661

effectual1662

airy1664

severe1665

correct1676

enervatea1704

free1728

classic1743

academic1752

academical1752

chaste1753

nerveless1763

epic1769

crude1786

effective1790

creative1791

soulless1794

mannered1796

manneristical1830

manneristic1837

subjective1840

inartisticala1849

abstract1857

inartistic1859

literary1900

period1905

atmospheric1908

dateless1908

atmosphered1920

non-naturalistic1925

self-indulgent1926

free-styled1933

soft-centred1935

freestyle1938

pseudish1938

decadent1942

post-human1944

kitschy1946

faux-naïf1958

spare1965

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > weakness or feebleness > [adjective]

feeblec1400

colourlessc1425

flagging1540

pithless1555

blanched1570

toothless1592

unpointed1604

unsinewed1604

jejune1615

low-pitched1622

unsinewy?1623

macilent1624

flaccid1647

insinewy1653

unsubstanceda1658

incogent1667

pointless1673

languida1677

enervatea1704

unaccentuated1716

unnervate1725

lank1729

unforcible1754

nerveless1763

weak1771

flabby1793

slip-slop1814

tinkling1822

exsanguinea1834

twittery1840

slipshod1842

under-coloured1870

shaftless1881

thin1890

unaccented1893

wimpish1925

wimp1979

a1704 T. Brown 1st Satyr Persius Imitated in Wks. (1707) I. i. 75 Nor Virgil's great Majestick Lines Melted into enervate Rhimes.

1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music xii. §3. 209 Certain Greeks..brought a refined and enervate Species of Music to Rome.

1884 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 432/2 Let it not be supposed that this art..was enervate, monotonous, or slow.

2. Wanting in bodily strength or physical power.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > weak

unmightyeOE

unferea1060

unwieldc1220

fade1303

lewc1325

weak1340

fainta1375

sicklyc1374

unwieldyc1386

impotent1390

delicatea1398

lowa1398

unmighta1450

unlustyc1450

low-brought1459

wearyc1480

failed1490

worn1508

caduke?1518

fainty1530

weak1535

debile1536

fluey1545

tewly?1547

faltering1549

puling1549

imbecilec1550

debilitate1552

flash1562

unable1577

unhealthful1595

unabled1597

whindling1601

infirm1608

debilitated1611

bedrid1629

washya1631

silly1636

fluea1645

tender1645

invaletudinary1661

languishant1674

valetudinaire?c1682

puly1688

thriftless1693

unheartya1699

wishy-washy1703

enervate1706

valetudinarian1713

lask1727

wersh1755

palliea1774

wankle1781

asthenic1789

atonic1792

squeal1794

adynamic1803

worn-down1814

totterish1817

asthenical1819

prostrate1820

used up1823

wankya1825

creaky1834

groggy1834

puny1838

imbeciled1840

rickety-rackety1840

muscleless1841

weedy1849

tottery1861

crocky1880

wimbly-wambly1881

ramshackle1889

twitterly1896

twittery1907

wonky1919

strung out1959

1706 N. Rowe Ulysses i. i. 335 My cold enervate hand.

1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. i. 9 On each enervate string they taught the Note, To pant.

1741 T. Betterton in W. Oldys et al. Eng. Stage vi. 110 Such a languid and ennervate Hoarsness.

1764 W. Falconer Shipwreck (new ed.) i. 33 When eastern breezes, yet enervate, rise.

1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton Caxtons II. xi. v. 224 The enervate slightness of his frail form.

Categories »

3. Botany. Having no rib or nerve; ribless.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

enervatev.

Brit.

/ˈɛnəveɪt/, U.S.

/ˈɛnərˌveɪt/

Etymology: < Latin ēnervāt- participial stem of ēnervāre to extract the sinews of, weaken, < ē out + nervus sinew (see nerve n.). The later use is influenced by the modern sense of nerve . Compare enerve v.(In 17–18th cent. the accentuation was usually eˈnervate.)

†1. transitive. To cut the tendons of; chiefly spec. to hamstring, hough (a horse). Also (see quot. 1728.). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > [verb (transitive)] > of strength

fadec1400

impoverisha1631

enervate1638

the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > maiming or mutilation > maim or mutilate [verb (transitive)] > hamstring

hoxen1387

hox1388

houghc1440

to tie with St. Mary's knot1544

hock1570

hough-sinew1577

string-hough1605

ham1618

enervate1638

hockle1671

hamstring1675

1638 D. Featley Transubstant. Exploded 183 You cut your selfe in the hammes, and enervate your maine argument.

1656 T. Blount Glossographia Enervate..to cut off sinews.

1702 S. Patrick Comm. Josh. xi. 9 They were wont thus to enervate all the horses they found in the king's stables after his death.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Cutting two Tendons in the Side of a Horse's Head... They Enervate Horses to make their Head small and lean.

†2. To emasculate. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > infertility > infertile [verb (transitive)] > castrate or spay > castrate

geldc1225

lib1396

cut1465

castrate1609

delumbate1609

enervate1610

unstone1611

gliba1616

evirate1621

emasculate1623

capon1630

eunuchize1634

eunuchate1646

caponize1654

unpollux1654

eunucha1658

unman1657

dismember1697

saturnized1846

nut1916

knacker1936

1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God vii. xxiv. 285 If earth were held no goddesse, men would..not [lay their hands] vpon themselues, to eneruate them-selues for her.

a. To weaken physically (a person or animal); now only of agencies that impair nervous ‘tone’, as luxury, indolence, hot or malarious climates.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > make weak

fellOE

wastec1230

faintc1386

endull1395

resolvea1398

afaintc1400

defeat?c1400

dissolvec1400

weakc1400

craze1476

feeblish1477

debilite1483

overfeeble1495

plucka1529

to bring low1530

debilitate1541

acraze1549

decaya1554

infirma1555

weaken1569

effeeble1571

enervate1572

enfeeble1576

slay1578

to pull downa1586

prosternate1593

shake1594

to lay along1598

unsinew1598

languefy1607

enerve1613

pulla1616

dispirit1647

imbecilitate1647

unstring1700

to run down1733

sap1755

reduce1767

prostrate1780

shatter1785

undermine1812

imbecile1829

disinvigorate1844

devitalize1849

wreck1850

atrophy1865

crumple1892

1572 tr. S. Münster Briefe Coll. & Compend. Extract Cosmogr. f. 13^v Feare & vnquietnes of mynde in youth doth much eneruate and weaken the strengthe of the body.

1669 J. Denham Cato Major ii. 21 I feel no weakness, nor hath length Or Winters quite enervated my strength.

1757 J. Dyer Fleece i. 12 No..myrtle bow'rs, The vig'rous frame..of man Enervate.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1869) II. xlii. 559 The conquerors were enervated by luxury.

1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 303 I, therefore, the King of Poland, enervated by age.

1805 Nelson Let. 1 Oct. in A. Duncan Life (1806) 243 I have had..one of my..spasms, which has almost enervated me.

1855–60 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea iii. §184 Their crews enervated in tropical climates.

†b. To impair the strength of (inanimate things). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > weakness > make weak [verb (transitive)]

shake1569

enervate1667

shock1726

weaken1827

1667 E. Waterhouse Short Narr. Fire London 69 Chapels, Churches, Monuments..it..flaked and enervated.

4. To weaken mentally or morally; to destroy the capacity of (a person, a community, etc.) for vigorous effort of intellect or will. Said esp. of the effects of luxury or sloth. Also, to destroy or impair the vigour of (sentiments, expressions, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > inability > render unable [verb (transitive)] > destroy physical or mental capability

enervate1603

enerve1613

1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 322 It behoved rather..to have musicke when as men be in fits either of choler or melancholie, to delay their anger and heavinesse, than to enervate them yet more, who are in their meriments and pleasure enfeebled alreadie.

1611 J. Downham 2nd Pt. Christian Warfare i. xviii. 161 As they eneruate and weaken our good resolutions, so also they corrupt vs with sinne.

1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iii. vi. §11. 677 Luxurie, where-with..most..Empires that euer were, haue beene eneruated.

a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1954) VII. 56 God shall..enfeeble, and enervate..that constancy.

1652 Bp. S. Patrick Funeral Serm. in J. Smith Sel. Disc. 555 Do not..enervate your souls by idleness.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 131 No lust enervates their Heroic Mind.

1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xxviii. 176 By imputing vice to Nature..we enervate that detestation which arises..upon the mention of those things which we denominate Unnatural.

1868 M. Pattison Suggestions Acad. Organisation §5. 149 The tendency of abstract thought..to enervate the will is one of the real dangers of the highest education.

†5.

a. To destroy the force of (arguments, testimony, etc.); to destroy the grounds of (a doctrine, an opinion); to render ineffectual (a law, an authority, an opponent's efforts, etc.). Obsolete. Sometimes expanded into to enervate the force of.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > refutation, disproof > refute, disprove [verb (transitive)] > by proving error or weakness

reprovea1398

falsifyc1449

enervate1565

convince1583

disprove1584

imposture1622

distest1647

disauthenticate1658

convict1717

negative1790

unsubstantiate1799

to show up1893

1565 T. Dorman Disproufe M. Nowelles Reproufe xxi. f. 152v To eneruate and weaken..the auctoritye of generall councelles.

1610 J. Donne Pseudo-martyr x. 271 Because the Glosse is now by some thought, to be of equal authoritie with the Text, it is not an inconuenient way to eneruate both.

1634 W. H. D. Longstaffe Acts High Comm. Court Durham (1858) 99 To enervaite the testimony of the wittnesses.

1653 G. Ashwell Fides Apostolica 271 I..have enervated most of those Arguments, which I have found brought against either.

1672 I. Newton Let. 20 Feb. in Corr. (1959) I. 116 So acute an objecter hath said nothing that can enervate any part of it [sc. my discourse].

a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 108 A..Prince, who hath not enervated those Machinations.

1702 L. Echard Gen. Eccl. Hist. iii. iii. 360 He might..enervate the Force and Vigour of all Divine Injunctions.

a1718 W. Penn Wks. (1726) I. 452 Something that can resolve its Doubts, answer its Objections, enervate its Propositions.

1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 417 In the next year..this wise provision was enervated, by only, etc.

1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. iii. 112 Enervate the force of legislative sanctions.

†b. To disparage the power or value of (something). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > disparagement or depreciation > disparage or depreciate [verb (transitive)]

littleeOE

low1340

dispraisec1386

minish1402

deroge1427

detractc1449

descryc1450

detrayc1475

dismerit1484

decline1509

vilipend1509

disprize?1518

disable1528

derogatea1530

elevate1541

disparagea1556

detrect1563

debase1565

demerit1576

vilify1586

disgrace1589

detracta1592

besparage1592

enervate1593

obtrect1595

extenuate1601

disvalue1605

disparagon1610

undervalue1611

avile1615

debaucha1616

to cry down1616

debate1622

decry1641

atomize1645

underrate1646

naucify1653

dedignify1654

stuprate1655

de-ample1657

dismagn1657

slur1660

voguec1661

depreciate1666

to run down1671

baffle1674

lacken1674

sneer1706

diminish1712

substract1728

down1780

belittle1789

carbonify1792

to speak scorn of1861

to give one a back-cap1903

minoritize1947

mauvais langue1952

rubbish1953

down-talk1959

marginalize1970

marginate1970

trash1975

neg1987

1593 A. Willet Tetrastylon Papisticum iii. 139 To extenuate & eneruate the force & efficacie of the death and passion of our Sauiour Christ..: they haue forged and deuised impious and blasphemous distinctions of their owne.

a1631 J. Donne Βιαθανατος (1647) iii. v. §7 To enervate and maime (or at least, declare it to be so defective,) that repentance which is admitted for sufficient in the Romane Church.

1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 135 Not that,..he [sc. Zeno] did enervate vertue.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	enervate
释义	enervateadj. /ɪˈnəːvət/ Forms: Also 1700s ennervate. Etymology: < Latin ēnervātus, past participle of ēnervāre : see enervate v. 1. a. Wanting in strength of character; spiritless, unmanly, effeminate. ΘΚΠ the world > life > sex and gender > female > effeminacy > [adjective] womanly?c1225 ferbleta1300 effeminatea1393 nicea1393 softc1450 manlessa1529 unmanly1534 cockney1573 effeminated1580 unmanlikea1586 milky1602 enervate1603 womanizing1615 emasculate1622 womanized1624 softly1643 womanlish1647 unmasculine1649 emollid1656 ladylike1656 enervated1660 emasculated1701 petticoated1708 tea-faced1728 effeminized1789 invirile1870 epicene1881 sissyish1889 sissified1898 devirilized1901 cockless1902 camp1909 pansy1929 campy1932 queenly1933 poncy1937 pansyish1941 swishy1941 moffie1954 poofy1956 femme1963 poofed-up1964 minty1965 ponced-up1970 lavender1979 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 11 They waxe carelesse, dissolute, and enervate. 1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe ii. 21 The dregs and droppings of enervate Love. 1749 J. Warton Ode West's Pindar (T.) Away enervate bards, away. 1774 O. Goldsmith Grecian Hist. I. v.* 176 We are to behold an ennervate and factious populace. 1822 W. Wordsworth Eccl. Sonn. i. ix, in Poet. Wks. IV. 201 The Pictish cloud darkens the enervate land By Rome abandoned. 1830 Fraser's Mag. 1 515 The enervate candidates for place and patronage. b. of artistic style, etc. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [adjective] > qualities of works generally wateryc1230 polite?a1500 meagre1539 over-laboured1579 bald1589 spiritless1592 light1597 meretricious1633 standing1661 effectual1662 airy1664 severe1665 correct1676 enervatea1704 free1728 classic1743 academic1752 academical1752 chaste1753 nerveless1763 epic1769 crude1786 effective1790 creative1791 soulless1794 mannered1796 manneristical1830 manneristic1837 subjective1840 inartisticala1849 abstract1857 inartistic1859 literary1900 period1905 atmospheric1908 dateless1908 atmosphered1920 non-naturalistic1925 self-indulgent1926 free-styled1933 soft-centred1935 freestyle1938 pseudish1938 decadent1942 post-human1944 kitschy1946 faux-naïf1958 spare1965 society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > weakness or feebleness > [adjective] feeblec1400 colourlessc1425 flagging1540 pithless1555 blanched1570 toothless1592 unpointed1604 unsinewed1604 jejune1615 low-pitched1622 unsinewy?1623 macilent1624 flaccid1647 insinewy1653 unsubstanceda1658 incogent1667 pointless1673 languida1677 enervatea1704 unaccentuated1716 unnervate1725 lank1729 unforcible1754 nerveless1763 weak1771 flabby1793 slip-slop1814 tinkling1822 exsanguinea1834 twittery1840 slipshod1842 under-coloured1870 shaftless1881 thin1890 unaccented1893 wimpish1925 wimp1979 a1704 T. Brown 1st Satyr Persius Imitated in Wks. (1707) I. i. 75 Nor Virgil's great Majestick Lines Melted into enervate Rhimes. 1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music xii. §3. 209 Certain Greeks..brought a refined and enervate Species of Music to Rome. 1884 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 432/2 Let it not be supposed that this art..was enervate, monotonous, or slow. 2. Wanting in bodily strength or physical power. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > weak unmightyeOE unferea1060 unwieldc1220 fade1303 lewc1325 weak1340 fainta1375 sicklyc1374 unwieldyc1386 impotent1390 delicatea1398 lowa1398 unmighta1450 unlustyc1450 low-brought1459 wearyc1480 failed1490 worn1508 caduke?1518 fainty1530 weak1535 debile1536 fluey1545 tewly?1547 faltering1549 puling1549 imbecilec1550 debilitate1552 flash1562 unable1577 unhealthful1595 unabled1597 whindling1601 infirm1608 debilitated1611 bedrid1629 washya1631 silly1636 fluea1645 tender1645 invaletudinary1661 languishant1674 valetudinaire?c1682 puly1688 thriftless1693 unheartya1699 wishy-washy1703 enervate1706 valetudinarian1713 lask1727 wersh1755 palliea1774 wankle1781 asthenic1789 atonic1792 squeal1794 adynamic1803 worn-down1814 totterish1817 asthenical1819 prostrate1820 used up1823 wankya1825 creaky1834 groggy1834 puny1838 imbeciled1840 rickety-rackety1840 muscleless1841 weedy1849 tottery1861 crocky1880 wimbly-wambly1881 ramshackle1889 twitterly1896 twittery1907 wonky1919 strung out1959 1706 N. Rowe Ulysses i. i. 335 My cold enervate hand. 1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. i. 9 On each enervate string they taught the Note, To pant. 1741 T. Betterton in W. Oldys et al. Eng. Stage vi. 110 Such a languid and ennervate Hoarsness. 1764 W. Falconer Shipwreck (new ed.) i. 33 When eastern breezes, yet enervate, rise. 1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton Caxtons II. xi. v. 224 The enervate slightness of his frail form. Categories » 3. Botany. Having no rib or nerve; ribless. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online December 2020). enervatev. Brit. /ˈɛnəveɪt/, U.S. /ˈɛnərˌveɪt/ Etymology: < Latin ēnervāt- participial stem of ēnervāre to extract the sinews of, weaken, < ē out + nervus sinew (see nerve n.). The later use is influenced by the modern sense of nerve . Compare enerve v.(In 17–18th cent. the accentuation was usually eˈnervate.) †1. transitive. To cut the tendons of; chiefly spec. to hamstring, hough (a horse). Also (see quot. 1728.). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > [verb (transitive)] > of strength fadec1400 impoverisha1631 enervate1638 the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > maiming or mutilation > maim or mutilate [verb (transitive)] > hamstring hoxen1387 hox1388 houghc1440 to tie with St. Mary's knot1544 hock1570 hough-sinew1577 string-hough1605 ham1618 enervate1638 hockle1671 hamstring1675 1638 D. Featley Transubstant. Exploded 183 You cut your selfe in the hammes, and enervate your maine argument. 1656 T. Blount Glossographia Enervate..to cut off sinews. 1702 S. Patrick Comm. Josh. xi. 9 They were wont thus to enervate all the horses they found in the king's stables after his death. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Cutting two Tendons in the Side of a Horse's Head... They Enervate Horses to make their Head small and lean. †2. To emasculate. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > infertility > infertile [verb (transitive)] > castrate or spay > castrate geldc1225 lib1396 cut1465 castrate1609 delumbate1609 enervate1610 unstone1611 gliba1616 evirate1621 emasculate1623 capon1630 eunuchize1634 eunuchate1646 caponize1654 unpollux1654 eunucha1658 unman1657 dismember1697 saturnized1846 nut1916 knacker1936 1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God vii. xxiv. 285 If earth were held no goddesse, men would..not [lay their hands] vpon themselues, to eneruate them-selues for her. 3. a. To weaken physically (a person or animal); now only of agencies that impair nervous ‘tone’, as luxury, indolence, hot or malarious climates. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > make weak fellOE wastec1230 faintc1386 endull1395 resolvea1398 afaintc1400 defeat?c1400 dissolvec1400 weakc1400 craze1476 feeblish1477 debilite1483 overfeeble1495 plucka1529 to bring low1530 debilitate1541 acraze1549 decaya1554 infirma1555 weaken1569 effeeble1571 enervate1572 enfeeble1576 slay1578 to pull downa1586 prosternate1593 shake1594 to lay along1598 unsinew1598 languefy1607 enerve1613 pulla1616 dispirit1647 imbecilitate1647 unstring1700 to run down1733 sap1755 reduce1767 prostrate1780 shatter1785 undermine1812 imbecile1829 disinvigorate1844 devitalize1849 wreck1850 atrophy1865 crumple1892 1572 tr. S. Münster Briefe Coll. & Compend. Extract Cosmogr. f. 13^v Feare & vnquietnes of mynde in youth doth much eneruate and weaken the strengthe of the body. 1669 J. Denham Cato Major ii. 21 I feel no weakness, nor hath length Or Winters quite enervated my strength. 1757 J. Dyer Fleece i. 12 No..myrtle bow'rs, The vig'rous frame..of man Enervate. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1869) II. xlii. 559 The conquerors were enervated by luxury. 1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 303 I, therefore, the King of Poland, enervated by age. 1805 Nelson Let. 1 Oct. in A. Duncan Life (1806) 243 I have had..one of my..spasms, which has almost enervated me. 1855–60 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea iii. §184 Their crews enervated in tropical climates. †b. To impair the strength of (inanimate things). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > weakness > make weak [verb (transitive)] shake1569 enervate1667 shock1726 weaken1827 1667 E. Waterhouse Short Narr. Fire London 69 Chapels, Churches, Monuments..it..flaked and enervated. 4. To weaken mentally or morally; to destroy the capacity of (a person, a community, etc.) for vigorous effort of intellect or will. Said esp. of the effects of luxury or sloth. Also, to destroy or impair the vigour of (sentiments, expressions, etc.). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > inability > render unable [verb (transitive)] > destroy physical or mental capability enervate1603 enerve1613 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 322 It behoved rather..to have musicke when as men be in fits either of choler or melancholie, to delay their anger and heavinesse, than to enervate them yet more, who are in their meriments and pleasure enfeebled alreadie. 1611 J. Downham 2nd Pt. Christian Warfare i. xviii. 161 As they eneruate and weaken our good resolutions, so also they corrupt vs with sinne. 1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iii. vi. §11. 677 Luxurie, where-with..most..Empires that euer were, haue beene eneruated. a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1954) VII. 56 God shall..enfeeble, and enervate..that constancy. 1652 Bp. S. Patrick Funeral Serm. in J. Smith Sel. Disc. 555 Do not..enervate your souls by idleness. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 131 No lust enervates their Heroic Mind. View more context for this quotation 1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xxviii. 176 By imputing vice to Nature..we enervate that detestation which arises..upon the mention of those things which we denominate Unnatural. 1868 M. Pattison Suggestions Acad. Organisation §5. 149 The tendency of abstract thought..to enervate the will is one of the real dangers of the highest education. †5. a. To destroy the force of (arguments, testimony, etc.); to destroy the grounds of (a doctrine, an opinion); to render ineffectual (a law, an authority, an opponent's efforts, etc.). Obsolete. Sometimes expanded into to enervate the force of. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > refutation, disproof > refute, disprove [verb (transitive)] > by proving error or weakness reprovea1398 falsifyc1449 enervate1565 convince1583 disprove1584 imposture1622 distest1647 disauthenticate1658 convict1717 negative1790 unsubstantiate1799 to show up1893 1565 T. Dorman Disproufe M. Nowelles Reproufe xxi. f. 152v To eneruate and weaken..the auctoritye of generall councelles. 1610 J. Donne Pseudo-martyr x. 271 Because the Glosse is now by some thought, to be of equal authoritie with the Text, it is not an inconuenient way to eneruate both. 1634 W. H. D. Longstaffe Acts High Comm. Court Durham (1858) 99 To enervaite the testimony of the wittnesses. 1653 G. Ashwell Fides Apostolica 271 I..have enervated most of those Arguments, which I have found brought against either. 1672 I. Newton Let. 20 Feb. in Corr. (1959) I. 116 So acute an objecter hath said nothing that can enervate any part of it [sc. my discourse]. a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 108 A..Prince, who hath not enervated those Machinations. 1702 L. Echard Gen. Eccl. Hist. iii. iii. 360 He might..enervate the Force and Vigour of all Divine Injunctions. a1718 W. Penn Wks. (1726) I. 452 Something that can resolve its Doubts, answer its Objections, enervate its Propositions. 1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 417 In the next year..this wise provision was enervated, by only, etc. 1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. iii. 112 Enervate the force of legislative sanctions. †b. To disparage the power or value of (something). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > disparagement or depreciation > disparage or depreciate [verb (transitive)] littleeOE low1340 dispraisec1386 minish1402 deroge1427 detractc1449 descryc1450 detrayc1475 dismerit1484 decline1509 vilipend1509 disprize?1518 disable1528 derogatea1530 elevate1541 disparagea1556 detrect1563 debase1565 demerit1576 vilify1586 disgrace1589 detracta1592 besparage1592 enervate1593 obtrect1595 extenuate1601 disvalue1605 disparagon1610 undervalue1611 avile1615 debaucha1616 to cry down1616 debate1622 decry1641 atomize1645 underrate1646 naucify1653 dedignify1654 stuprate1655 de-ample1657 dismagn1657 slur1660 voguec1661 depreciate1666 to run down1671 baffle1674 lacken1674 sneer1706 diminish1712 substract1728 down1780 belittle1789 carbonify1792 to speak scorn of1861 to give one a back-cap1903 minoritize1947 mauvais langue1952 rubbish1953 down-talk1959 marginalize1970 marginate1970 trash1975 neg1987 1593 A. Willet Tetrastylon Papisticum iii. 139 To extenuate & eneruate the force & efficacie of the death and passion of our Sauiour Christ..: they haue forged and deuised impious and blasphemous distinctions of their owne. a1631 J. Donne Βιαθανατος (1647) iii. v. §7 To enervate and maime (or at least, declare it to be so defective,) that repentance which is admitted for sufficient in the Romane Church. 1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 135 Not that,..he [sc. Zeno] did enervate vertue. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.1603v.1565
随便看	ofcale ofclepe ofdraw ofdread ofdrunken ofearn ofex off off ! off and on off at, in, upon a tangent off balance sheet financing off base off beam off book off by heart off camera off duty off flow off form off guard off her milk off his chump off his own bat off horse