different between decrease vs debilitate

English

Etymology

From Middle English decresen, discresen, from Anglo-Norman, Old French descreistre (French: décroître), from Latin decrescere.

Pronunciation

• (verb) enPR: d?kr?s', IPA^(key): /d??k?i?s/
• (noun) enPR: d?'kr?s, IPA^(key): /?di?k?i?s/
• Rhymes: -i?s

Verb

decrease (third-person singular simple present decreases, present participle decreasing, simple past and past participle decreased)

1. (intransitive) Of a quantity, to become smaller.

2. (transitive) To make (a quantity) smaller.

Synonyms

• (become smaller): drop, fall, go down, plummet (rapidly), plunge (rapidly), reduce, shrink, sink; See also Thesaurus:decrease
• (make smaller): abate, cut, decrement, lower, reduce; See also Thesaurus:diminish

Antonyms

• (become larger): go up, grow, increase, rise, soar (rapidly), shoot up (rapidly); See also Thesaurus:increase
• (make larger): increase, increment, raise, up (informal); See also Thesaurus:augment

Related terms

• decretion
• increase

Translations

Noun

decrease (countable and uncountable, plural decreases)

1. An amount by which a quantity is decreased.

2. (knitting) A reduction in the number of stitches, usually accomplished by suspending the stitch to be decreased from another existing stitch or by knitting it together with another stitch. See Decrease (knitting).

Synonyms

• (amount by which a quantity is decreased): cut, decrement, drop, fall, loss, lowering, reduction, shrinkage

Antonyms

• (amount by which a quantity is decreased): gain, increase, increment, raise (US, of pay), rise

Translations

Anagrams

• deceaser

English

Etymology

Latin debilitatus, past participle of debilitare (“to weaken, debilitate”), from the adjective debilis (“weak”), from de- + habilis (“able”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??b?l?te?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d??b?l?te?t/

Verb

debilitate (third-person singular simple present debilitates, present participle debilitating, simple past and past participle debilitated)

1. (transitive) To make feeble; to weaken.

   The American Dream suffered a debilitating effect after the subprime crisis.

   Synonyms: enervate, enfeeble, weaken

Related terms

• debile
• debility
• debilitation
• debilitating

Translations

See also

• enervate

Further reading

• debilitate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• debilitate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Interlingua

Noun

debilitate (plural debilitates)

1. weakness

Italian

Verb

debilitate

1. second-person plural present indicative of debilitare
2. second-person plural imperative of debilitare
3. feminine plural of debilitato

Latin

Verb

d?bilit?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of d?bilit?

Romanian

Etymology

From French débilité

Noun

debilitate f (plural debilit??i)

1. debility

Declension