devitalize

[ dee-vahyt-l-ahyz ]
See synonyms for devitalize on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),de·vi·tal·ized, de·vi·tal·iz·ing.
  1. to deprive of vitality or vital properties; make lifeless; weaken.

Origin of devitalize

1
First recorded in 1840–50; de- + vitalize
  • Also especially British, de·vi·tal·ise .

Other words from devitalize

  • de·vi·tal·i·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use devitalize in a sentence

  • Are you aware of the things that can happen to you if you allow the red corpuscles of your blood to become devitalised?

    Jill the Reckless | P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
  • An unhealthy or devitalised condition of the patient's tissues also hinders the reparative process.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
  • They are doubtless due to the action of skin bacteria, which attack the tissues devitalised by the erysipelas.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
  • Thorough purification with antiseptics, excision of devitalised tissues, and drainage of the wound are first carried out.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
  • Did they move as dead men among the living, devitalised, vacuous calm?

    The Weavers, Complete | Gilbert Parker

British Dictionary definitions for devitalize

devitalize

devitalise

/ (diːˈvaɪtəˌlaɪz) /


verb
  1. (tr) to lower or destroy the vitality of; make weak or lifeless: the war devitalized the economy

Derived forms of devitalize

  • devitalization or devitalisation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012