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weak Definition

weak (wēk)

adjective

    1. lacking in strength of body or muscle; not physically strong
    2. lacking vitality; feeble; infirm
  2. lacking in skill or strength in combat or competition a weak team
  3. lacking in moral strength or willpower; yielding easily to temptation, the influence of others, etc.
  4. lacking in mental power, or in the ability to think, judge, decide, etc.
    1. lacking ruling power, or authority a weak government
    2. having few resources; relatively low in wealth, numbers, supplies, etc. the weaker nations
  6. lacking in force or effectiveness weak discipline
    1. lacking in strength of material or construction; unable to resist strain, pressure, etc.; easily torn, broken, bent, etc. a weak railing
    2. not sound or secure; unable to stand up to an attack a weak fortification
    1. not functioning normally or well: said of a body organ or part weak eyes
    2. easily upset; queasy a weak stomach
  9. indicating or suggesting moral or physical lack of strength weak features
  10. lacking in volume, intensity, etc.; faint a weak voice, a weak current
  11. lacking the usual or proper strength; specif.,
    1. having only a small amount of its essential ingredient; diluted weak tea
    2. not as potent as usual or as others of the kind a weak drug
    3. lacking, poor, or deficient in something specified weak in grammar, a baseball team weak in pitchers
    1. ineffective; unconvincing a weak argument
    2. faulty weak logic
  13. tending toward lower prices: said of a market, stock, etc.
  14. Chem. having a low ion concentration: said as of certain acids and bases
  15. Gram. expressing variation in tense by the addition of an inflectional suffix rather than by internal change of a syllabic vowel; regular (Ex.: talk, talked, talked)
  16. Phonet. unstressed or lightly stressed: said of a syllable
  17. Photog. thin (sense )
  18. Prosody designating or of a verse ending in which the stress falls on a word or syllable that is normally unstressed

Etymology: ME waik < ON veikr, akin to OE wac, feeble (which the ON word replaced) < IE *weig-, *weik- (< base *wei-, to bend) > week, wicker, L vicis, change

weak Related Forms
weak′·ish adjective
weak Synonyms

weak

modif.

  1. Lacking physical strength; said of persons

    delicate, puny, flabby, flaccid, debilitated, effeminate, feeble, frail, sickly, infirm, decrepit, enervated, senile; see also sick.

    Antonyms strong*, healthy*, robust.

  2. Lacking physical strength; said of things

    flimsy, makeshift, brittle, unsubstantial, jerry-built, rickety, tumbledown, sleazy, shaky, unsteady, ramshackle, rotten, wobbly, tottery, top-heavy.

    Antonyms strong*, shatter-proof, sturdy.

  3. Lacking mental firmness or character

    weak-minded, nerveless, fainthearted, irresolute, nervous, spineless, unstrung, palsied, wishy-washy, caitiff, hesitant, vacillating, frightened.

    Antonyms brave*, courageous, adventurous.

  4. Lacking in volume

    thin, low, soft, indistinct, feeble, faint, dim, muffled, whispered, bated, inaudible, light, stifled, dull, pale.

    Antonyms loud*, strong, forceful.

  5. Lacking in military power

    small, paltry, ineffectual, ineffective, inadequate, impotent, ill-equipped, insufficiently armed, limited, unorganized, undisciplined, untrained, vulnerable, exposed, assailable, unprepared.

  6. Lacking in capacity or experience

    unsure, raw, green, fresh, untrained, young, backward, insecure, immature, unsteady, handicapped, soft, shaky, uncertain, incomplete, untried.

    Antonyms experienced*, expert, trained*.

weak, the broadest in application of these words, basically implies a lack or inferiority of physical, mental, or moral strength a weak muscle, mind, character, foundation, excuse, etc.; feeble suggests a pitiable weakness or ineffectiveness a feeble old man, a feeble joke; frail suggests an inherent or constitutional delicacy or weakness, so as to be easily broken or shattered a frail body, conscience, etc.; infirm suggests a loss of strength or soundness, as through illness or age his infirm old grandfather; decrepit implies a being broken down, worn out, or decayed, as by old age or long use a decrepit old pensioner, a decrepit sofa

weak Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • spot: Externally the bolts are exposed, avoiding potential weak spots where water may penetrate the timber.
  • acid: Electron donating groups, however, will make for weaker acids.
  • parity: Target group we accounts to help weak parity the medical expenses who.
  • link: The girls voted out the " weakest link " by chanting " Send him off!
  • dollar: The decision were but i can't weak dollar their.
  • signal: For very weak signals, you can tell you need a good external arial.

Modifying Another Word

  • relatively: Tune the second receiver to a relatively weak station on the broadcast band.
  • too: Alas, I am too weak to show my words around here.
  • comparatively: It was unusual in that it offered comparatively weak integer performance but very strong floating point performance.
  • economically: Enterprise 23.25 Boosting enterprise and enhancing business development was identified as a priority for the traditionally economically weaker regions.

Infinitive complement

  • stand: Lord, our brothers and sisters fall too weak to stand up to the strong.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: The performance of semi-detached bungalows, however, remained weak.
  • appear: Students may be reluctant to discuss such difficulties with academic staff, for fear of appearing weak.
  • feel: The safety of feeling poorer weaker the investment accounts.
  • seem: Tho the machine guns seem weak, they are the best and most accurate weapon if used correctly.
  • grow: Even those who are young grow weak; Young people can fall exhausted.
  • become: My gait became unstable; my arms became weak; I dropped things; doing my hair became a chore.

Preposition: in

  • comparison: Benchmarking was particularly weak in comparison to the other competences.

Preposition: of

  • bunch: The weakest of the bunch, A Ship Named Francis, which attempts a humerous note, is fortunately also the shortest.

Preposition: from

  • hunger: I am in his office the next day at 8 pm sharp, weak from hunger.
weak Quotes

To disarm the strong and arm the weak would be to change the social order which it's my job to preserve. Justice is the means by which established injustices are sanctioned.

—Thibault

   The concessions of the weak are the concessions of fear.

—Burke, Edmund

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.

—Eisenhower, Dwight D(avid)

His eyesight has always been weak, a sort of film over the eyes. A doctor advised him not to read, but he said, 'Then I should be ignorant', and he refused an operation because there was a thousandth chance he might go blind and so remain ignorant.

—Gregory, Lady Isabella Augusta ne¤  e Persse

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

—Bible (NewTestament)

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.

—Bible (NewTestament)

   Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

—Bible (Old Testament)

   To be weak is miserable Doing or suffering, but of this be sure, To do aught good never will be our task, But ever to do ill our sole delight.

—Milton,John

The spirit burning but unbent May writhe, rebelöthe weak alone repent!

—Rochdale

Es ist derVorzug und das Wesen der Starken, dass sie die groÞen Entscheidungsfragen stellen und zu ihnen klar Stellung nehmen k o« nnen. Die Schwachen mu«  ssen sich immer zwischen Alternativen entscheiden, die nicht die ihren sind. It is the nature, and the advantage, of strong people that they can bring out the crucial questions and form a clear opinion about them. The weak always have to decide between alternatives that are not their own.

—Bonhoeffer, Dietrich

I know that Ihavethe bodyof a weak and feeble woman, but I havetheheart and stomach of a kingöand a king of England too; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any Prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm.

—Elizabeth I

An obscenity, a depraved act by weak and miserable men, including all of us, who haveallowed ittogo onand on with endless fury.

—Chomsky, (Avram) Noam

   This is the law of theYukon, that only the Strong shall thrive; That surely theWeak shall perish, and only the Fit survive.

—Service, Robert William

We must have a weak spot or two in a character before we can love it much.

—Holmes, Oliver Wendell

Death and pain dominate this world, for though many are cured, they leave still weak, still tremulous, still knowing mortality has whispered to them; have seen in the folding of white bedspreads according to rule the starched pleats of a shroud.

—Levertov, Denise

Browse dictionary entries near weak

  1. ‹ we've
  2. ‹ we're
  3. ‹ we'll
  4. ‹ we'd
  5. ‹ we
  6. ‹ WDM
  7. ‹ WD-40
  8. ‹ wd
  9. ‹ WCTU
  10. ‹ WCC
  1. weak dollar ›
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  3. weak-kneed ›
  4. weak-minded ›
  5. weak nuclear force ›
  6. weak side ›
  7. weak sister ›
  8. weak-willed ›
  9. weaken ›
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