WEAKEN

weaken

(verb) become weaker; “The prisoner’s resistance weakened after seven days”

weaken

(verb) lessen the strength of; “The fever weakened his body”

weaken, de-escalate, step down

(verb) reduce the level or intensity or size or scope of; “de-escalate a crisis”

dampen, damp, soften, weaken, break

(verb) lessen in force or effect; “soften a shock”; “break a fall”

sabotage, undermine, countermine, counteract, subvert, weaken

(verb) destroy property or hinder normal operations; “The Resistance sabotaged railroad operations during the war”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

weaken (third-person singular simple present weakens, present participle weakening, simple past and past participle weakened)

(transitive) To make weaker or less strong.

(intransitive) To become weaker or less strong.

Source: Wiktionary


Weak"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Weakened; p. pr. & vb. n. Weakening.]

1. To make weak; to lessen the strength of; to deprive of strength; to debilitate; to enfeeble; to enervate; as, to weaken the body or the mind; to weaken the hands of a magistrate; to weaken the force of an objection or an argument. Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Neh. vi. 9.

2. To reduce in quality, strength, or spirit; as, to weaken tea; to weaken any solution or decoction.

Weak"en, v. i.

Definition: To become weak or weaker; to lose strength, spirit, or determination; to become less positive or resolute; as, the patient weakened; the witness weakened on cross-examination. "His notion weakens, his discernings are lethargied." Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

24 December 2024

INTUITIVELY

(adverb) in an intuitive manner; “inventors seem to have chosen intuitively a combination of explosive and aggressive sounds as warning signals to be used on automobiles”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest coffee press is 230 cm (7 ft 6 in) in height and 72 cm (2 ft 4 in) in diameter and was created by Salzillo Tea and Coffee (Spain) in Murcia, Spain, in February 2007. The cafetière consists of a stainless steel container, a filtering piston, and a superior lid.

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