The war had sapped him, nerve and brain and soul.

How the war on terror has sapped the power of U.S. courts to protect citizens' constitutional liberties.

Democrats say the war has sapped resources from tracking terrorists and bolstering domestic security.

But civil war and the demands of defending the sultanate had overextended the warrior society's resources and sapped its strength.

After that, the struggle against apartheid led to capital flight, sanctions cut off foreign investment, and the wars against guerrillas sapped the state's resources.

The long civil war over investiture sapped the energy of both German churchmen and intellectuals.

The endless war has sapped the enthusiasm from my men, and with each month that passes we lose more than we are able to recruit, as well you must see.

However, the war sapped away the strength of the Russian government more rapidly than it weakened those of the other belligerents and thus encouraged rebellion.

By 1969 the war in Vietnam had sapped the federal budget, and the moon landing had temporarily satiated Americans' appetite for space exploration.

Continual wars sapped Iraq's wealth and decimated its people.