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weak definition

weak (wēk)

adjective

    1. lacking in strength of body or muscle; not physically strong
    2. lacking vitality; feeble; infirm
  2. lacking in skill or strength in combat or competition a weak team
  3. lacking in moral strength or willpower; yielding easily to temptation, the influence of others, etc.
  4. lacking in mental power, or in the ability to think, judge, decide, etc.
    1. lacking ruling power, or authority a weak government
    2. having few resources; relatively low in wealth, numbers, supplies, etc. the weaker nations
  6. lacking in force or effectiveness weak discipline
    1. lacking in strength of material or construction; unable to resist strain, pressure, etc.; easily torn, broken, bent, etc. a weak railing
    2. not sound or secure; unable to stand up to an attack a weak fortification
    1. not functioning normally or well: said of a body organ or part weak eyes
    2. easily upset; queasy a weak stomach
  9. indicating or suggesting moral or physical lack of strength weak features
  10. lacking in volume, intensity, etc.; faint a weak voice, a weak current
  11. lacking the usual or proper strength; specif.,
    1. having only a small amount of its essential ingredient; diluted weak tea
    2. not as potent as usual or as others of the kind a weak drug
    3. lacking, poor, or deficient in something specified weak in grammar, a baseball team weak in pitchers
    1. ineffective; unconvincing a weak argument
    2. faulty weak logic
  13. tending toward lower prices: said of a market, stock, etc.
  14. Chem. having a low ion concentration: said as of certain acids and bases
  15. Gram. expressing variation in tense by the addition of an inflectional suffix rather than by internal change of a syllabic vowel; regular (Ex.: talk, talked, talked)
  16. Phonet. unstressed or lightly stressed: said of a syllable
  17. Photog. thin (sense )
  18. Prosody designating or of a verse ending in which the stress falls on a word or syllable that is normally unstressed

Etymology: ME waik < ON veikr, akin to OE wac, feeble (which the ON word replaced) < IE *weig-, *weik- (< base *wei-, to bend) > week, wicker, L vicis, change

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms weak idiom

weak Synonyms

weak

modif.

  1. Lacking physical strength; said of persons

    delicate, puny, flabby, flaccid, debilitated, effeminate, feeble, frail, sickly, infirm, decrepit, enervated, senile; see also sick.

    Antonyms strong*, healthy*, robust. *

  2. Lacking physical strength; said of things

    flimsy, makeshift, brittle, unsubstantial, jerry-built, rickety, tumbledown, sleazy, shaky, unsteady, ramshackle, rotten, wobbly, tottery, top-heavy.

    Antonyms strong*, shatter-proof, sturdy. *

  3. Lacking mental firmness or character

    weak-minded, nerveless, fainthearted, irresolute, nervous, spineless, unstrung, palsied, wishy-washy, caitiff, hesitant, vacillating, frightened.

    Antonyms brave*, courageous*, adventurous. *

  4. Lacking in volume

    thin, low, soft, indistinct, feeble, faint, dim, muffled, whispered, bated, inaudible, light, stifled, dull, pale.

    Antonyms loud*, strong*, forceful. *

  5. Lacking in military power

    small, paltry, ineffectual, ineffective, inadequate, impotent, ill-equipped, insufficiently armed, limited, unorganized, undisciplined, untrained, vulnerable, exposed, assailable, unprepared.

  6. Lacking in capacity or experience

    unsure, raw, green, fresh, untrained, young, backward, insecure, immature, unsteady, handicapped, soft, shaky, uncertain, incomplete, untried.

    Antonyms experienced*, expert*, trained*.

weak, the broadest in application of these words, basically implies a lack or inferiority of physical, mental, or moral strength a weak muscle, mind, character, foundation, excuse, etc.; feeble suggests a pitiable weakness or ineffectiveness a feeble old man, a feeble joke; frail suggests an inherent or constitutional delicacy or weakness, so as to be easily broken or shattered a frail body, conscience, etc.; infirm suggests a loss of strength or soundness, as through illness or age his infirm old grandfather; decrepit implies a being broken down, worn out, or decayed, as by old age or long use a decrepit old pensioner, a decrepit sofa


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

weak Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • spot: Externally the bolts are exposed, avoiding potential weak spots where water may penetrate the timber.

Modifying Another Word

  • relatively: Tune the second receiver to a relatively weak station on the broadcast band.

Infinitive complement

  • stand: Lord, our brothers and sisters fall too weak to stand up to the strong.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: The performance of semi-detached bungalows, however, remained weak.

Preposition: in

  • comparison: Benchmarking was particularly weak in comparison to the other competences.

Preposition: of

  • bunch: The weakest of the bunch, A Ship Named Francis, which attempts a humerous note, is fortunately also the shortest.

Preposition: from

  • hunger: I am in his office the next day at 8 pm sharp, weak from hunger.
weak usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

weak quotes

   Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

-Bible (Old Testament)

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

-Bible (NewTestament)

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.

-Bible (NewTestament)

weak quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"weak." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/weak>

APA Style

weak. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/weak

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