Nearby Words
Synonyms
adjective, weak·er, weak·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.
EXPANDlacking 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.
13.
14.
15.
(of wheat or flour) having a low gluten content or having a poor quality of gluten.
16.
Photography. thin; not dense.
17.
COLLAPSECommerce. characterized by a decline in prices: The market was weak in the morning but rallied in the afternoon.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English weik < Old Norse veikr; cognate with Old English wāc, Dutch week, German weich; akin to Old English wīcan to yield, give way, Old Norse vīkja to move, turn, draw back, German weichen to yield
1250–1300; Middle English weik < Old Norse veikr; cognate with Old English wāc, Dutch week, German weich; akin to Old English wīcan to yield, give way, Old Norse vīkja to move, turn, draw back, German weichen to yield
Related forms
o·ver·weak, adjective
o·ver·weak·ly, adverb
o·ver·weak·ness, noun
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.
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.
1. strong.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Weaker
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
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
EXPAND vicarious). Sense of "lacking authority" is first recorded early 15c.; that of "lacking moral strength" late 14c. Weaken (v.) is recorded from 1520s; the earlier verb was simply weak (late 14c.). Weak-kneed "wanting in resolve" is from 1870.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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