weaken — OET · Shobdo

weaken

verb

1 the virus has weakened him terribly:

enfeeble, debilitate, incapacitate, sap one's strength, enervate, tire, exhaust, wear out;

wither, erode, diminish, destroy.

▷antonyms strengthen.

2 she tried to weaken the impact of what she'd just said:

reduce, decrease, diminish, lessen, moderate, temper, sap, dilute, water down, thin, blunt, mitigate, deplete, soften (up).

▷antonyms increase, boost.

3 our morale weakened:

abate, lessen, decrease, dwindle, diminish, ease up, let up, trail off, wane, ebb, subside, peter out, melt away, fizzle out, taper off, tail off, grow dim, grow faint;

decline, deteriorate, degenerate, shrivel, wilt, tire, languish, falter.

▷antonyms strengthen, intensify.

4 the move weakened her authority:

impair, undermine, compromise;

invalidate, refute, rebut, negate, discredit.

▷antonyms strengthen, bolster.

5 when she wept and begged him not to turn her out he weakened:

relent, give in, acquiesce, yield, give way, accede, succumb, come round;

consent, assent, agree;

soften, bend, ease up, ease off.

▷antonyms stand firm.

weaken Oxford Dictionary of English