weak
AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Adjective (12)weaker, weakest
- wanting in physical strength“a weak pillar”Opposite strongSimilar pale, feeble, faint, flimsy, puny, anemic, weakened, wilted +3 moreRelates to strengthSee also delicate, powerless, frail, tender
- overly diluted; thin and insipid“washy coffee”“watery milk”“weak tea”Synonyms: waterywashyOpposite undilutedSimilar diluted, dilute
- (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”Synonyms: unaccentedlightOpposite accentedSimilar unstressed
- 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”Synonyms: falliblefrailimperfectOpposite nonhumanSimilar human
- tending downward in price“a weak market for oil stocks”Opposite upSimilar down
- deficient or lacking in some skill“he's weak in spelling”Opposite skilledSimilar unskilled
- lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality“a feeble old woman”“her body looked sapless”Synonyms: decrepitdebilefeebleinfirmricketysaplessweakly
- (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection
- not having authority, political strength, or governing power“a weak president”
- 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”Synonyms: faint
- likely to fail under stress or pressure“the weak link in the chain”
- deficient in intelligence or mental power“a weak mind”
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Adjective lacking in force or ability
- Spanish
- débil
- French
- faible
- German
- schwach
- Italian
- debole
- Portuguese
- fraco
- Turkish
- güçsüz
- Russian
- сла́бый slábyj
- Arabic
- ضَعِيف ḍaʕīf
- Chinese
- 弱 ruò
- Japanese
- 弱い yowai
36 more languages
- Dutch
- zwak
- Polish
- słaby
- Swedish
- svag
- Greek
- αδύναμος adýnamos
- Korean
- 약하다 yakhada
- Indonesian
- lemah
- Vietnamese
- yếu
- Hungarian
- gyenge
- Portuguese (PT)
- fraco
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 弱 ruò
- Albanian
- i dobët
- Breton
- gwan
- Catalan
- dèbil
- Corsican
- debuli
- Czech
- slabý
- Danish
- svag
- Esperanto
- malforta
- Estonian
- nõrk
- Finnish
- heikko
- Georgian
- სუსტი susṭi
- Hebrew
- חַלָּשׁ khalásh
- Icelandic
- veikburða
- Kurdish
- qels
- Latvian
- vājš
- Lithuanian
- silpnas
- Malagasy
- osa
- Norwegian
- svak
- Romanian
- slab
- Scottish Gaelic
- fann
- Serbo-Croatian
- slab
- Slovak
- slabý
- Slovenian
- šibek
- Swahili
- dhaifu
- Walloon
- flåwe
- Welsh
- gwan
- Yiddish
- שוואַך shvakh
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. weik, Icel. veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible, pliant, AS. wāc weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G. weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel. vīkja to turn, veer, recede, AS. wīcan to yield, give way, G. weichen, OHG. wīhhan, akin to Skr. vij, and probably to E. week, L. vicis a change, turn, Gr. εἴκειν to yield, give way. √132. Cf. Week, Wink, intransitive verb 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.— William Shakespeare
Weak with hunger, mad with love.— John 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.— Roger 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.— James Beattie
Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there were two Gods.— Daniel 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.— John 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.— Joseph 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.” John Milton
A case so weak... hath much persisted in.— Richard 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.” William Shakespeare
(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.— William Shakespeare
(k) Stock exchange Tending towards lower prices; as, a weak market.
3. Grammar (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).
4. Stock exchange Tending toward a lower price or lower prices; as, wheat is weak; a weak market.
5. Card games Lacking in good cards; deficient as to number or strength; as, a hand weak in trumps.
6. Photography Lacking contrast; as, a weak negative.
☞ 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 Grammar, 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 Medicine, a sore covered with pale, flabby, sluggish granulations.
Origin: Cf. AS. w…can. wācian. See Weak, adjective
To make or become weak; to weaken. rare
Never to seek weaking variety.— John Marston
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: 1913 supplement