[syn: faint, weak]
11. likely to fail under stress or pressure;
- Example: "the weak link in the chain"
12. deficient in intelligence or mental power;
- Example: "a weak mind"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Weak \Weak\ (w[=e]k), a. [Compar. Weaker (w[=e]k"[~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[imac]kja to turn, veer, recede, AS. w[imac]can to
yield, give way, G. weichen, OHG. w[imac]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.]
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1. Wanting physical strength. Specifically:
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(a) Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm; sickly;
debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted.
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A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man.
--Shak.
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Weak with hunger, mad with love. --Dryden.
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(b) Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure, or
strain; as, a weak timber; a weak rope.
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(c) Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or
separated into pieces; not compact; as, a weak ship.
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(d) Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as, the weak stalk of
a plant.
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(e) Not able to resist external force or onset; easily
subdued or overcome; as, a weak barrier; as, a weak
fortress.
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(f) Lacking force of utterance or sound; not sonorous;
low; small; feeble; faint.
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A voice not soft, weak, piping, and womanish.
--Ascham.
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(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.
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(h) Lacking ability for an appropriate function or office;
as, weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak magistrate; a
weak regiment, or army.
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2. Not possessing or manifesting intellectual, logical,
moral, or political strength, vigor, etc. Specifically:
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(a) Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking vigor;
spiritless; as, a weak king or magistrate.
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To think every thing disputable is a proof of a
weak mind and captious temper. --Beattie.
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Origen was never weak enough to imagine that
there were two Gods. --Waterland.
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(b) Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment,
discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
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If evil thence ensue,
She first his weak indulgence will accuse.
--Milton.
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(c) Not having full confidence or conviction; not decided
or confirmed; vacillating; wavering.
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Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but
not to doubtful disputations. --Rom. xiv. 1.
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(d) Not able to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion,
etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome;
accessible; vulnerable; as, weak resolutions; weak
virtue.
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Guard thy heart
On this weak side, where most our nature fails.
--Addison.
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(e) Wanting in power to influence or bind; as, weak ties;
a weak sense of honor of duty.
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(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.
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A case so weak . . . hath much persisted in.
--Hooker.
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(g) Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as, a weak
sentence; a weak style.
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(h) Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be
prevalent; not potent; feeble. "Weak prayers." --Shak.
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(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.
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I must make fair weather yet awhile,
Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong.
--Shak.
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(k) (Stock Exchange) Tending towards lower prices; as, a
weak market.
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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) .
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4. (Stock Exchange) Tending toward a lower price or lower
prices; as, wheat is weak; a weak market.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
5. (Card Playing) Lacking in good cards; deficient as to
number or strength; as, a hand weak in trumps.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
6. (Photog.) Lacking contrast; as, a weak negative.
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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.
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Weak conjugation (Gram.), the conjugation of weak verbs; --
called also new conjugation, or regular conjugation,
and distinguished from the old conjugation, 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 weak ulcer (Med.), a sore covered with pale,
flabby, sluggish granulations.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Weak \Weak\, v. t. & i. [Cf. AS. w?can. w[=a]cian. See Weak,
a.]
To make or become weak; to weaken. [R.]
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Never to seek weaking variety. --Marston.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
weak
adj 1: wanting in physical strength; "a weak pillar" [ant:
strong]
2: overly diluted; thin and insipid; "washy coffee"; "watery
milk"; "weak tea" [syn: watery, washy, weak]
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, light, weak]
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,
frail, imperfect, weak]
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,
debile, feeble, infirm, rickety, sapless, weak,
weakly]
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, weak]
11: likely to fail under stress or pressure; "the weak link in
the chain"
12: deficient in intelligence or mental power; "a weak mind"