| English Dictionary |
WEAK
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does weak mean?
• WEAK (adjective)
The adjective WEAK has 12 senses:
1. wanting in physical strength
2. overly diluted; thin and insipid
3. (used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress
4. wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings
5. tending downward in price
6. deficient or lacking in some skill
7. lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
8. (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection
9. not having authority, political strength, or governing power
10. deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
11. likely to fail under stress or pressure
12. deficient in intelligence or mental power
Familiarity information: WEAK used as an adjective is familiar.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: weakest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Wanting in physical strength
Context example:
a weak pillar
Similar:
limp; wilted (without energy or will)
weakened (made weak or weaker)
vulnerable (capable of being wounded or hurt)
anaemic; anemic (lacking vigor or energy)
puny (inferior in strength or significance)
pale; pallid; sick; wan ((of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble)
gutless; namby-pamby; spineless; wishy-washy (weak in willpower, courage or vitality)
jerry-built (badly or hastily built)
flimsy; insubstantial (lacking solidity or strength)
feeble; lame (pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness)
faint; feeble (lacking strength or vigor)
adynamic; asthenic; debilitated; enervated (lacking energy or vitality)
Also:
powerless (lacking power)
delicate (exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury)
tender; untoughened (physically untoughened)
Attribute:
strength (the property of being physically or mentally strong)
Antonym:
strong (having strength or power greater than average or expected)
Derivation:
weakness (the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Overly diluted; thin and insipid
Synonyms:
Context example:
weak tea
Similar:
dilute; diluted (reduced in strength or concentration or quality or purity)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress
Synonyms:
light; unaccented; weak
Context example:
a weak stress on the second syllable
Similar:
unstressed (not bearing a stress or accent)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings
Synonyms:
fallible; frail; imperfect; weak
Context example:
frail humanity
Similar:
human (having human form or attributes as opposed to those of animals or divine beings)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Tending downward in price
Context example:
a weak market for oil stocks
Similar:
down (being or moving lower in position or less in some value)
Derivation:
weakness (the condition of being financially weak)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Deficient or lacking in some skill
Context example:
he's weak in spelling
Similar:
unskilled (not having or showing or requiring special skill or proficiency)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
Synonyms:
debile; decrepit; feeble; infirm; rickety; sapless; weak; weakly
Context example:
her body looked sapless
Similar:
frail (physically weak)
Derivation:
weakness (the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain)
Sense 8
Meaning:
(used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection
Similar:
regular (in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle)
Domain category:
grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))
Sense 9
Meaning:
Not having authority, political strength, or governing power
Context example:
a weak president
Similar:
powerless (lacking power)
Derivation:
weakness (powerlessness revealed by an inability to act)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
Synonyms:
faint; weak
Context example:
a weak pulse
Similar:
perceptible (capable of being perceived by the mind or senses)
Sense 11
Meaning:
Likely to fail under stress or pressure
Context example:
the weak link in the chain
Similar:
fallible (likely to fail or make errors)
Derivation:
weakness (a flaw or weak point)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Deficient in intelligence or mental power
Context example:
a weak mind
Similar:
stupid (lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity)
Context examples
He is very weak. We see him fall down many times in the snow.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
It was too far for me to go, weak and ill as I was.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I cannot imagine how I came to be so weak.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I know that I was weak in yielding to my mother's will. I should not have done so.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
If Saturn deems one relationship of yours to be weak, Saturn will ask you what you want to do about it.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Strong as I look, there is a weak place in my heart, and it does not take much to knock me over.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“I understand,” she said, in a weak, far-away voice, and her eyes showed me that she did understand.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
It is because you know how weak I am!
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
The weakest and the more worthless were eaten first.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
“They’re weak as water, if you want to know,” came the reply from one of the men.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
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