What term means to make something morally or physically weaker?

The term that means to make something morally or physically weaker is "macerate." In a literal sense, macerate refers to the process of softening or breaking down something by soaking it in a liquid, but it can also be used metaphorically to describe the weakening of an entity, whether moral or physical. When something is macerated, it loses its strength and integrity, which aligns with the idea of making it weaker.

In contrast, the other choices do not relate to the concept of weakening. "Might" refers to strength or power, "libel" pertains to making false statements that harm someone’s reputation, and "ostensible" describes something that is stated or appearing to be true but is not necessarily so. None of these alternatives convey the idea of weakening in the same sense as "macerate."