feeble - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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

fee·ble

Audio Help [fee-buh

l] Pronunciation Key

–adjective, -bler, -blest.

1.	physically weak, as from age or sickness; frail.

2.	weak intellectually or morally: a feeble mind.

3.	lacking in volume, loudness, brightness, distinctness, etc.: a feeble voice; feeble light.

4.	lacking in force, strength, or effectiveness: feeble resistance; feeble arguments.

[Origin: 1125–75; ME feble < OF, var. of fleible (by dissimilation) < L flébilis lamentable, equiv. to flé(re) to weep + -bilis -ble

]

—Related forms

fee·ble·ness, noun

feeblish, adjective

feebly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. See weak.

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

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
feeble

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fee·ble Audio Help (fē'bəl) Pronunciation Key
adj. fee·bler, fee·blest

1. Lacking strength; weak.
2. Indicating weakness.
Lacking vigor, force, or effectiveness; inadequate. See Synonyms at weak.

[Middle English feble, from Old French, from Latin flēbilis, lamentable, from flēre, to weep.]

fee'ble·ness n., fee'bly adv.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
feeble

c.1175, from O.Fr. feible, by dissimilation from L. flebilis "lamentable," lit. "that is to be wept over," from flere "weep." The first -l- was dropped in O.Fr. by dissimilation.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

feeble
adjective
1.	pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness; "a feeble excuse"; "a lame argument"
2.	lacking strength or vigor; "damning with faint praise"; "faint resistance"; "feeble efforts"; "a feeble voice" [syn: faint]
3.	lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality; "a feeble old woman"; "her body looked sapless" [syn: decrepit]
4.	lacking strength; "a weak, nerveless fool, devoid of energy and promptitude"- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
feeble [ˈfiːbl] adjective

weak
Example: The old lady has been rather feeble since her illness; a feeble excuse

Arabic:	ضَعيف
Chinese (Simplified):	虚弱的
Chinese (Traditional):	虛弱的
Czech:	slabý
Danish:	svag
Dutch:	zwak
Estonian:	nõrk
Finnish:	heikko
French:	faible
German:	schwach
Greek:	αδύναμος
Hungarian:	gyenge
Icelandic:	máttfarinn
Indonesian:	lemah
Italian:	debole

Japanese:	弱い
Korean:	약한, 효과 없는
Latvian:	vārgs; nespēcīgs
Lithuanian:	silpnas
Norwegian:	svak(elig), ynkelig
Polish:	słaby, wątły
Portuguese (Brazil):	fraco
Portuguese (Portugal):	fraco
Romanian:	slab
Russian:	слабый
Slovak:	slabý
Slovenian:	slaboten
Spanish:	débil
Swedish:	svag, klen
Turkish:	zayıf

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

Feeble

En*fee"ble\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Enfeebled; p. pr. & vb. n. Enfeebling.] [OF. enfeblir, enfeiblir; pref. en- (L. in) + feble, F. faible, feeble. See Feeble.] To make feeble; to deprive of strength; to reduce the strength or force of; to weaken; to debilitate.

Enfeebled by scanty subsistence and excessive toil. --Prescott.

Syn: To weaken; debilitate; enervate.

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

Feeble

Fee"ble\ (f[=e]"b'l), a. [Compar. Feebler (-bl[~e]r); superl. Feeblest (-bl[e^]st).] [OE. feble, OF. feble, flebe, floibe, floible, foible, F. faible, L. flebilis to be wept over, lamentable, wretched, fr. flere to weep. Cf. Foible.]

1. Deficient in physical strength; weak; infirm; debilitated.

Carried all the feeble of them upon asses. --2 Chron. xxviii. 15.

2. Wanting force, vigor, or efficiency in action or expression; not full, loud, bright, strong, rapid, etc.; faint; as, a feeble color; feeble motion. "A lady's feeble voice." --Shak.

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