“…on the whole, I believe it’s been a very successful and enervating and exciting convention.” — Ben Affleck
Mr. Affleck was speaking of the 2004 Democratic convention. I do not extend clemency to Ben Affleck.
Enervate Gaming (enervategaming.com)
What sort of games do they develop? I know Half-Life severely enervated my productivity.
“Crossfire”
CNN | July 30, 2004
“…on the whole, I believe it’s been a very successful and enervating and exciting convention.” — Ben Affleck
Mr. Affleck was speaking of the 2004 Democratic convention. I do not extend clemency to Ben Affleck.
— Otto E. Mezzo
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling, published 2001
“My elf has been stunned.” Diggory raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, “Ennervate!” Winky stirred feebly. Her great brown eyes opened.
In researching enervate, it came to my attention that Ms. Rowling named a spell for it — one that revived rather than exhausted. On the surface, it seems like Rowling fell into the trap of equating enervate with “energize.” Being a Potter fan and appreciating Rowling’s breadth of knowledge in things classical and literary, I would like to extend clemency to her based on her spelling. Ennervate (with two ns) could be a British spelling of innervate, a medical term that means “to supply with nerves.” I honestly don’t know. The British use ensure where Americans use insure, but then again, Americans often use ensure where other Americans use insure. Perhaps a literate UK reader can inlighten us — I mean, enlighten us.
— Otto E. Mezzo
ENERVATE: “cause (someone) to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken” —New Oxford American Dictionary
“What we’re doing with the stimulus monies, and you’re going to see these go up very shortly, is we’re putting solar panels on top of every public parking rooftop. That will enervate the building but will also allow us to have plugs at each stall for hybrid/electric and electric vehicles.” (Albuquerque mayor Martin Chavez in an interview with The New Mexico Daily Lobo, published August 24, 2009)
It’s tiring, truly it is. I just returned from a Washington, D.C., trip with my two very energetic boys. Between miles of urban hiking and inadequate sleep (which is the norm for me), I am exhausted. But not nearly as exhausted as I am when I hear people use words incorrectly, knowing it will create a meme that rampages through the internet like a stampede of Huns, thus forcing me to write another article with exactly the same words… so… tired…
Enervate does not mean “energize” … sounds like it … so what? … if you mean “energize” … just use energize … so pretentious … why do people insist … why do I bother? … sleep ……..
— Otto E. Mezzzzz……..
References:
The interview at Daily Lobo.com
