De-bĭl'ĭ-ty, n.

n. [Lat. debilitas, from debilis; Fr. débilité; Pr. debilitat, Sp. debilidad, It. debilità.] The state of being debile or weak; want of strength; weakness; feebleness; languor; faintness; infirmity; imbecility.

The inconveniences of too strong a perspiration, which are debility, faintings. Arbuthnot.

Synonyms—DEBILITY, INFIRMITY, IMBECILITY. An infirmity belongs, for the most part, to particular members, and is often temporary, as of the eyes, &c. Debility is more general, and prevents, while it lasts, the ordinary functions of nature. Imbecility attaches to the whole frame, and renders it more or less powerless. Debility may be constitutional or may be the result of superinduced causes; imbecility is always constitutional; infirmity is accidental, and results from sickness or a decay of the frame. These words, in their figurative uses, have the same distinctions; we speak of infirmity of will, debility of intellect, and an imbecility which affects the whole man.