WEAK

weak

(adjective) deficient in intelligence or mental power; “a weak mind”

watery, washy, weak

(adjective) overly diluted; thin and insipid; “washy coffee”; “watery milk”; “weak tea”

weak

(adjective) likely to fail under stress or pressure; “the weak link in the chain”

fallible, frail, imperfect, weak

(adjective) 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”

faint, weak

(adjective) 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”

weak

(adjective) not having authority, political strength, or governing power; “a weak president”

weak

(adjective) (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection

decrepit, debile, feeble, infirm, rickety, sapless, weak, weakly

(adjective) lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality; “a feeble old woman”; “her body looked sapless”

weak

(adjective) deficient or lacking in some skill; “he’s weak in spelling”

unaccented, light, weak

(adjective) (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”

weak

(adjective) wanting in physical strength; “a weak pillar”

weak

(adjective) tending downward in price; “a weak market for oil stocks”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

weak (comparative weaker, superlative weakest)

Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.

Unable to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain.

Unable to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable.

Dilute, lacking in taste or potency.

(grammar) Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including

(Germanic languages, of verbs) Regular in inflection, lacking vowel changes and having a past tense with -d- or -t-.

(Germanic languages, of nouns) Showing less distinct grammatical endings.

(Germanic languages, of adjectives) Definite in meaning, often used with a definite article or similar word.

(chemistry) That does not ionize completely into anions and cations in a solution.

(physics) One of the four fundamental forces associated with nuclear decay.

(slang) Bad or uncool.

(mathematics, logic) Having a narrow range of logical consequences; narrowly applicable. (Often contrasted with a strong statement which implies it.)

Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.

Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained.

Lacking in vigour or expression.

Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble.

(stock exchange) Tending towards lower prices.

(photography) Lacking contrast.

Synonyms

• (lacking in force or ability): feeble, frail, powerless, vincible, assailable, vulnerable

• (lacking in taste or potency): dilute, watery

• See also weak

Antonyms

• (lacking in force or ability): healthy, powerful, robust, strong, invincible

• (lacking in taste or potency): potent, robust, strong

• (chemistry: that does not ionize completely): strong

Anagrams

• Wake, wake, weka

Source: Wiktionary

Weak, a. [Compar. Weaker; superl. Weakest.] Etym: [OE. weik, Icel. veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible, pliant, AS. wac weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G. weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel. vikja to turn, veer, recede, AS. wican to yield, give way, G. weichen, OHG. wihhan, akin to Skr. vij, and probably to E. week, L. vicis a change, turn, Gr. Week, Wink, v. i. 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. Shak. Weak with hunger, mad with love. 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. 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. Beattie. Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there were two Gods. 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. 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. 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." Milton. A case so weak . . . hath much persisted in. 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." Shak. (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. Shak. (k) (Stock Exchange)

Definition: Tending towards lower prices; as, a weak market.

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).

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.

Weak conjugation (Gram.), the conjugation of weak verbs; -- called also new, or regular, conjugation, and distinguished from the old, 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 ulcer (Med.), a sore covered with pale, flabby, sluggish granulations.

Weak, v. t. & i. Etym: [Cf. AS. w. wacian. See Weak, a.]

Definition: To make or become weak; to weaken. [R.] Never to seek weaking variety. Marston.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

WEAK

Etymology

Adjective

Synonyms

Antonyms

Anagrams

Recent Word Finds

Word of the Day

THEORETICAL

Do you know this game?