Weak definition |Dictionary.com

Browse Nearby Entries

WDHA syndrome

weak

8 dictionary results for: Weak

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

weak

[week] Pronunciation Key

–adjective, -er, -est.

1.	not strong; liable to yield, break, or collapse under pressure or strain; fragile; frail: a weak fortress; a weak spot in armor.

2.	lacking in bodily strength or healthy vigor, as from age or sickness; feeble; infirm: a weak old man; weak eyes.

3.	not having much political strength, governing power, or authority: a weak nation; a weak ruler.

4.	lacking in force, potency, or efficacy; impotent, ineffectual, or inadequate: weak sunlight; a weak wind.

5.	lacking in rhetorical or creative force or effectiveness: a weak reply to the charges; one of the author's weakest novels.

6.	lacking in logical or legal force or soundness: a weak argument.

7.	deficient in mental power, intelligence, or judgment: a weak mind.

8.	not having much moral strength or firmness, resolution, or force of character: to prove weak under temptation; weak compliance.

9.	deficient in amount, volume, loudness, intensity, etc.; faint; slight: a weak current of electricity; a weak pulse.

10.	deficient, lacking, or poor in something specified: a hand weak in trumps; I'm weak in spelling.

11.	deficient in the essential or usual properties or ingredients: weak tea.

12.	unstressed, as a syllable, vowel, or word.

13.	(of Germanic verbs) inflected with suffixes, without inherited change of the root vowel, as English work, worked, or having a preterit ending in a dental, as English bring, brought.

14.	(of Germanic nouns and adjectives) inflected with endings originally appropriate to stems terminating in -n, as the adjective alte in German der alte Mann (“the old man”).

15.	(of wheat or flour) having a low gluten content or having a poor quality of gluten.

16.	Photography. thin; not dense.

17.	Commerce. characterized by a decline in prices: The market was weak in the morning but rallied in the afternoon.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME weik < ON veikr; c. OE wāc, D week, G weich; akin to OE wīcan to yield, give way, ON vīkja to move, turn, draw back, G weichen to yield

]

—Synonyms 1. breakable, delicate. 2. senile, sickly, unwell, invalid. Weak, decrepit, feeble, weakly imply a lack of strength or of good health. Weak means not physically strong, because of extreme youth, old age, illness, etc.: weak after an attack of fever. Decrepit means old and broken in health to a marked degree: decrepit and barely able to walk. Feeble denotes much the same as weak, but connotes being pitiable or inferior: feeble and almost senile. Weakly suggests a long-standing sickly condition, a state of chronic bad health: A weakly child may become a strong adult. 4. ineffective. 6. unsound, ineffective, inadequate, illogical, inconclusive, unsustained, unsatisfactory, lame, vague. 7. unintelligent, simple, foolish, stupid, senseless, silly. 8. vacillating, wavering, unstable, irresolute, fluctuating, undecided, weak-kneed. 9. slender, slim, inconsiderable, flimsy, poor, trifling, trivial. 11. wanting, short, lacking.

—Antonyms 1. strong.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

weak (wēk) Pronunciation Key
adj. weak·er, weak·est

Lacking physical strength, energy, or vigor; feeble.
Likely to fail under pressure, stress, or strain; lacking resistance: a weak link in a chain.
Lacking firmness of character or strength of will.
Lacking the proper strength or amount of ingredients: weak coffee.
Lacking the ability to function normally or fully: a weak heart.
Lacking aptitude or skill: a weak student; weak in math.
Lacking or resulting from a lack of intelligence.
Lacking persuasiveness; unconvincing: a weak argument.
Lacking authority or the power to govern.
Lacking potency or intensity: weak sunlight.
Linguistics
1. Of, relating to, or being those verbs in Germanic languages that form a past tense and past participle by means of a dental suffix, as start, started; have, had; bring, brought.
2. Of, relating to, or being the inflection of nouns or adjectives in Germanic languages with a declensional suffix that historically contained an n.
Unstressed or unaccented in pronunciation or poetic meter. Used of a word or syllable.
Designating a verse ending in which the metrical stress falls on a word or syllable that is unstressed in normal speech, such as a preposition.
Tending downward in price: a weak market for oil stocks.

[Middle English weike, from Old Norse veikr, pliant; see weik-² in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: These adjectives mean lacking or showing a lack of strength. Weak is the most widely applicable: "These poor wretches ... were so weak they could hardly sit to their oars" (Daniel Defoe).
Feeble suggests pathetic or grievous physical or mental weakness or hopeless inadequacy: a feeble intellect; a feeble effort.
Frail implies delicacy and inability to endure or withstand: "an aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small" (Thomas Hardy.)
What is fragile is easily broken, damaged, or destroyed: a fragile, expensive vase; a fragile state of mind after the accident.
Infirm implies enfeeblement: "a poor, infirm, weak, and despis'd old man" (Shakespeare).
Decrepit describes what is weakened, worn out, or broken down by hard use or the passage of time: a decrepit building slated for demolition.
Debilitated suggests a gradual impairment of energy or strength: a debilitated constitution further weakened by overwork.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
weak

c.1300, from O.N. veikr "weak," cognate with O.E. wac "weak, pliant, soft," from P.Gmc. *waikwaz "yield," *wikanan "bend" (cf. O.S. wek, Swed. vek, M.Du. weec, Du. week "weak, soft, tender," O.H.G. weih "yielding, soft," Ger. weich "soft," from PIE base *weik- "to bend, wind" (see vicarious). Sense of "lacking authority" is first recorded 1423; that of "lacking moral strength" c.1375. Weaken (v.) is recorded from 1530; the earlier verb was simply weak (c.1374). Weak-kneed "wanting in resolve" is from 1870.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

weak
adjective
1.	wanting in physical strength; "a weak pillar" [ant: strong]
2.	overly diluted; thin and insipid; "washy coffee"; "watery milk"; "weak tea" [syn: watery]
3.	(used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress; "a syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable"; "a weak stress on the second syllable" [syn: unaccented]
4.	wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings; "I'm only a fallible human"; "frail humanity" [syn: fallible]
5.	tending downward in price; "a weak market for oil stocks"
6.	deficient or lacking in some skill; "he's weak in spelling"
7.	lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality; "a feeble old woman"; "her body looked sapless" [syn: decrepit]
8.	(used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection
9.	not having authority, political strength, or governing power; "a weak president"
10.	deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc; "a faint outline"; "the wan sun cast faint shadows"; "the faint light of a distant candle"; "weak colors"; "a faint hissing sound"; "a faint aroma"; "a weak pulse" [syn: faint]
11.	likely to fail under stress or pressure; "the weak link in the chain"
12.	deficient in intelligence or mental power; "a weak mind"

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

weak

In addition to the idioms beginning with weak, also see spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Weak

Weak\, a. 1. (Stock Exchange) Tending toward a lower price or lower prices; as, wheat is weak; a weak market.

2. (Card Playing) Lacking in good cards; deficient as to number or strength; as, a hand weak in trumps.

3. (Photog.) Lacking contrast; as, a weak negative.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Weak

Weak\ (w[=e]k), a. [Compar. Weaker (-[~e]r); superl. Weakest.] [OE. weik, Icel. veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible, pliant, AS. w[=a]c weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G. weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel. v[=i]kja to turn, veer, recede, AS. w[=i]can to yield, give way, G. weichen, OHG. w[=i]hhan, akin to Skr. vij, and probably to E. week, L. vicis a change, turn, Gr. e'i`kein to yield, give way. [root]132. Cf. Week, Wink, v. i. Vicissitude.]

1. Wanting physical strength. Specifically: (a) Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm; sickly; debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted.

A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man. --Shak.

Weak with hunger, mad with love. --Dryden. (b) Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain; as, a weak timber; a weak rope. (c) Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or separated into pieces; not compact; as, a weak ship. (d) Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as, the weak stalk of a plant. (e) Not able to resist external force or onset; easily subdued or overcome; as, a weak barrier; as, a weak fortress. (f) Lacking force of utterance or sound; not sonorous; low; small; feeble; faint.

A voice not soft, weak, piping, and womanish. --Ascham. (g) Not thoroughly or abundantly impregnated with the usual or required ingredients, or with stimulating and nourishing substances; of less than the usual strength; as, weak tea, broth, or liquor; a weak decoction or solution; a weak dose of medicine. (h) Lacking ability for an appropriate function or office; as, weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak magistrate; a weak regiment, or army.

2. Not possessing or manifesting intellectual, logical, moral, or political strength, vigor, etc. Specifically: (a) Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking vigor; spiritless; as, a weak king or magistrate.

To think every thing disputable is a proof of a weak mind and captious temper. --Beattie.

Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there were two Gods. --Waterland. (b) Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.

If evil thence ensue, She first his weak indulgence will accuse. --Milton. (c) Not having full confidence or conviction; not decided or confirmed; vacillating; wavering.

Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. --Rom. xiv. 1. (d) Not able to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable; as, weak resolutions; weak virtue.

Guard thy heart On this weak side, where most our nature fails. --Addison. (e) Wanting in power to influence or bind; as, weak ties; a weak sense of honor of duty. (f) Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained; as, a weak argument or case. "Convinced of his weak arguing." --Milton.

A case so weak . . . hath much persisted in. --Hooker. (g) Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as, a weak sentence; a weak style. (h) Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble. "Weak prayers." --Shak. (i) Lacking in elements of political strength; not wielding or having authority or energy; deficient in the resources that are essential to a ruler or nation; as, a weak monarch; a weak government or state.

I must make fair weather yet awhile, Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong. --Shak. (k) (Stock Exchange) Tending towards lower prices; as, a weak market.

3. (Gram.) (a) Pertaining to, or designating, a verb which forms its preterit (imperfect) and past participle by adding to the present the suffix -ed, -d, or the variant form -t; as in the verbs abash, abashed; abate, abated; deny, denied; feel, felt. See Strong, 19 (a) . (b) Pertaining to, or designating, a noun in Anglo-Saxon, etc., the stem of which ends in -n. See Strong, 19 (b) .

Note: Weak is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, weak-eyed, weak-handed, weak-hearted, weak-minded, weak-spirited, and the like.

Weak conjugation (Gram.), the conjugation of weak verbs; -- called also new, or regular, conjugation, and distinguished from the old, or irregular, conjugation.

Weak declension (Anglo-Saxon Gram.), the declension of weak nouns; also, one of the declensions of adjectives.

Weak side, the side or aspect of a person's character or disposition by which he is most easily affected or influenced; weakness; infirmity.

Weak sore or ulcer (Med.), a sore covered with pale, flabby, sluggish granulations.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Weak

Weak\, v. t. & i. [Cf. AS. w?can. w[=a]cian. See Weak, a.] To make or become weak; to weaken. [R.]

Never to seek weaking variety. --Marston.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Link to Us · Report Ad · Contact Us