weak

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weak

not strong; feeble; lacking firmness or force of will: The illness had made her weak.

Not to be confused with:

week – a period of seven days: It has been a week since I saw him.

weak

(wēk)

adj. weak·er, weak·est

1. Lacking physical strength, energy, or vigor; feeble.

2. Likely to fail under pressure, stress, or strain; lacking resistance: a weak link in a chain.

3. Lacking firmness of character or strength of will: a weak person unable to cope with adversity.

a. Lacking intensity or strength; faint: weak light; a weak voice.

b. Lacking the proper strength or amount of ingredients: weak coffee.

c. Having low prices or few transactions: a weak market for oil stocks.

a. Lacking the ability to function normally or fully: a weak heart.

b. Unable to digest food easily; readily nauseated: a weak stomach.

a. Lacking or resulting from a lack of intelligence: a weak mind; weak reasoning.

b. Lacking aptitude or skill: a weak student; weak in math.

7. Lacking persuasiveness; unconvincing: a weak argument.

8. Lacking authority or the power to govern: a weak ruler.

9. Linguistics

a. Of, relating to, or being those verbs in Germanic languages that form a past tense and past participle by means of a dental suffix, as start, started; have, had; bring, brought.

b. Of, relating to, or being the inflection of nouns or adjectives in Germanic languages with a declensional suffix that historically contained an n.

10. Unstressed or unaccented in pronunciation or poetic meter. Used of a word or syllable.

11. Designating a verse ending in which the metrical stress falls on a word or syllable that is unstressed in normal speech, such as a preposition.

[Middle English weike, from Old Norse veikr, pliant; see weik- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: weak, feeble, frail¹, fragile, infirm, decrepit, debilitated
These adjectives mean lacking or showing a lack of strength. Weak is the most widely applicable: "These poor wretches ... were so weak they could hardly sit to their oars" (Daniel Defoe).
Feeble suggests pathetic or grievous physical or mental weakness or hopeless inadequacy: a feeble intellect; a feeble effort. Frail implies delicacy and inability to endure or withstand: "an aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small" (Thomas Hardy).
What is fragile is easily broken, damaged, or destroyed: a fragile, expensive vase; a fragile state of mind after the accident. Infirm implies enfeeblement: "a poor, infirm, weak, and despis'd old man" (Shakespeare).
Decrepit describes what is weakened, worn out, or broken down by hard use or the passage of time: a decrepit building slated for demolition. Debilitated suggests a gradual impairment of energy or strength: a debilitated constitution further weakened by overwork.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

weak

(wiːk)

adj

1. lacking in physical or mental strength or force; frail or feeble

2. liable to yield, break, or give way: a weak link in a chain.

3. lacking in resolution or firmness of character

4. lacking strength, power, or intensity: a weak voice.

5. lacking strength in a particular part: a team weak in defence.

a. not functioning as well as normal: weak eyes.

b. easily upset: a weak stomach.

7. lacking in conviction, persuasiveness, etc: a weak argument.

8. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) lacking in political or strategic strength: a weak state.

9. (Cookery) lacking the usual, full, or desirable strength of flavour: weak tea.

10. (Grammar) grammar

a. denoting or belonging to a class of verbs, in certain languages including the Germanic languages, whose conjugation relies on inflectional endings rather than internal vowel gradation, as look, looks, looking, looked

b. belonging to any part-of-speech class, in any of various languages, whose inflections follow the more regular of two possible patterns. Compare strong¹³

11. (Poetry) (of a syllable) not accented or stressed

12. (Automotive Engineering) (of a fuel-air mixture) containing a relatively low proportion of fuel. Compare rich¹³

13. (Photography) photog having low density or contrast; thin

14. (Stock Exchange) (of an industry, market, currency, securities, etc) falling in price or characterized by falling prices

[Old English wāc soft, miserable; related to Old Saxon wēk, Old High German weih, Old Norse veikr]

ˈweakish adj

ˈweakishly adv

ˈweakishness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

weak

(wik)

adj. -er, -est.

1. not strong; liable to give way under pressure or strain; fragile; frail.

2. lacking in bodily strength or healthy vigor, as from age or sickness; feeble; infirm.

3. lacking in force, potency, or efficacy; impotent, ineffectual, or inadequate: weak sunlight; a weak president.

4. lacking in rhetorical or creative force or effectiveness.

5. lacking in logical or legal force or soundness: a weak argument.

6. deficient in mental power, intelligence, or judgment.

7. not having much moral strength or force of character: to prove weak under temptation.

8. deficient in amount, volume, intensity, etc.; faint; slight: a weak electrical current; a weak pulse.

9. deficient, lacking, or poor in something specified: I'm weak in spelling.

10. deficient in the essential or usual properties or ingredients: weak tea.

11. unstressed, as a syllable, vowel, or word.

12. (of verbs in Germanic languages) forming the past tense and past participle by the addition of a suffix without change of the root vowel, as work, worked, or having a preterit ending in a dental, as bring, brought. Compare strong (def. 24).

13. (of wheat or flour) having a low gluten content or having a poor quality of gluten.

14. characterized by a decline in prices: a weak stock market.

[1250–1300; Middle English weik < Old Norse veikr, c. Old English wāc]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	weak - wanting in physical strength; "a weak pillar" delicate - exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury; "a delicate violin passage"; "delicate china"; "a delicate flavor"; "the delicate wing of a butterfly" powerless - lacking power untoughened, tender - physically untoughened; "tender feet" strong - having strength or power greater than average or expected; "a strong radio signal"; "strong medicine"; "a strong man"
	2.	weak - overly diluted; thin and insipid; "washy coffee"; "watery milk"; "weak tea" washy, watery dilute, diluted - reduced in strength or concentration or quality or purity; "diluted alcohol"; "a dilute solution"; "dilute acetic acid"
	3.	weak - (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" unaccented, light unstressed - not bearing a stress or accent; "short vowels are unstressed"
	4.	weak - 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" fallible, frail, imperfect human - having human form or attributes as opposed to those of animals or divine beings; "human beings"; "the human body"; "human kindness"; "human frailty"
	5.	weak - tending downward in price; "a weak market for oil stocks" down - being or moving lower in position or less in some value; "lay face down"; "the moon is down"; "our team is down by a run"; "down by a pawn"; "the stock market is down today"
	6.	weak - deficient or lacking in some skill; "he's weak in spelling" unskilled - not having or showing or requiring special skill or proficiency; "unskilled in the art of rhetoric"; "an enthusiastic but unskillful mountain climber"; "unskilled labor"; "workers in unskilled occupations are finding fewer and fewer job opportunities"; "unskilled workmanship"
	7.	weak - lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality; "a feeble old woman"; "her body looked sapless" debile, infirm, sapless, weakly, decrepit, feeble, rickety frail - physically weak; "an invalid's frail body"
	8.	weak - (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection grammar - the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics) regular - in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle; "his regular calls on his customers"; "regular meals"; "regular duties"
	9.	weak - not having authority, political strength, or governing power; "a weak president" powerless - lacking power
	10.	weak - 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" faint perceptible - capable of being perceived by the mind or senses; "a perceptible limp"; "easily perceptible sounds"; "perceptible changes in behavior"
	11.	weak - likely to fail under stress or pressure; "the weak link in the chain" fallible - likely to fail or make errors; "everyone is fallible to some degree"
	12.	weak - deficient in intelligence or mental power; "a weak mind" stupid - lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity

weak

adjective

1. feeble, exhausted, frail, debilitated, spent, wasted, weakly, tender, delicate, faint, fragile, shaky, sickly, languid, puny, decrepit, unsteady, infirm, anaemic, effete, enervated I was too weak to move my arms and legs.
feeble strong, tough, healthy, mighty, hardy, energetic, hefty

2. deficient, wanting, poor, lacking, inadequate, pathetic, faulty, substandard, under-strength His eyesight had always been weak.
deficient able, effective, capable

3. ineffectual, pathetic, cowardly, powerless, soft, impotent, indecisive, infirm, spineless, boneless, timorous, weak-kneed (informal), namby-pamby, irresolute a weak man who let his wife walk all over him
ineffectual firm, resolute

4. slight, faint, feeble, pathetic, shallow, hollow He managed a weak smile and said, `Don't worry about me.'

5. faint, soft, quiet, slight, small, low, poor, distant, dull, muffled, imperceptible Her voice was so weak we could hardly hear her.
faint powerful, loud

6. fragile, brittle, flimsy, unsound, fine, delicate, frail, dainty, breakable The animals escaped through a weak spot in the fence.

7. unsafe, exposed, vulnerable, helpless, wide open, unprotected, untenable, defenceless, unguarded The trade unions are in a very weak position.
unsafe safe, secure, invulnerable, well-defended

8. unconvincing, unsatisfactory, lame, invalid, flimsy, inconclusive, pathetic The evidence against him was too weak to hold up in court. unconvincing powerful, convincing, obvious, solid, valid, forceful, conclusive, trustworthy, incontrovertible

9. tasteless, thin, diluted, watery, runny, insipid, wishy-washy (informal), under-strength, milk-and-water, waterish a weak cup of tea
tasteless strong, potent, tasty, intoxicating, flavoursome, industrial-strength (chiefly humorous)

10. dim, pale, faint, muted, feeble, dull, wan The light was so weak we could barely see anything

Quotations
"The weakest goes to the wall" [William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

weak

adjective

1. Not physically strong:

decrepit, delicate, feeble, flimsy, fragile, frail, infirm, insubstantial, puny, unsound, unsubstantial, weakly.

2. So lacking in strength as to be barely audible:

faint, feeble.

3. Lacking stability:

infirm, insecure, precarious, shaky, tottering, tottery, unstable, unsteady, unsure, wobbly.

4. Not capable of accomplishing anything:

helpless, impotent, inadequate, incapable, ineffectual, powerless.

5. Lower than normal in strength or concentration due to admixture:

dilute, thin, washy, watered-down, waterish, watery.

6. Not plausible or believable:

flimsy, implausible, improbable, inconceivable, incredible, shaky, thin, unbelievable, unconceivable, unconvincing, unsubstantial.

Translations

خَفيف، مُرَقَّقضَعِيفضَعيف الجِسِمضَعيف الشَّخْصِيَّهغَيْر مُضْحِك، باهِت

slabý

svagdårligslap

schwach dünn matt

αδύναμος αδύνατος ασθενής

débil pobre poco convincente sin gracia soso

heikkolaimeamieto

faible sans volonté

slab

gyöngehígnem meggyőzőgyenge

lemah

lélegurmáttlaus, veikburîaósannfærandiòunnur, bragîlítillveikgeîja

debole fiacco gracile labile cagionevole

弱い弱変化の薄い

약한

neįtikinamasnupiepėlispaliegėlissilpnõs valiossusilpnėti

čābisksnepārliecinošsnespēcīgsšķidrsvājas gribas-

слабый бессильный правильный

neodločenredekšibekslab

svag

อ่อนแอ

zayıf güçsüzinandırıcı olmayaniradesizpek komik olmayan

yếu

不特别好笑的弱的无说服力的淡的虚弱的

weak

[wiːk]

A. ADJ (weaker (compar) (weakest (superl)))

1. (physically) [person, limb, constitution] → débil
he was too weak to stand up → estaba demasiado débil para levantarse, no tenía fuerzas para levantarse
to have weak eyesight → tener mala vista
to feel weak → sentirse débil
my legs/arms felt weak → no tenía fuerza en las piernas/los brazos
to be weak from hunger → estar debilitado por el hambre
to grow or get weak(er) → debilitarse
to have a weak heart → padecer del corazón
the weaker sex (o.f.) → el sexo débil
to have a weak stomach → marearse con facilidad
to be weak with hunger → estar debilitado por el hambre
to be weak with fear → estar débil por el miedo
to be weak in the head → ser cortito de arriba
to go weak at the knees I went weak at the knees → se me flaquearon las piernas

2. (= fragile) [bone, fingernail, bond] → frágil; [structure] → endeble, frágil; [material] → endeble
that chair's got a weak leg → a esa silla le falla una pata → esa silla tiene una pata floja
the weak link (in the chain) (fig) → el eslabón flojo (de la cadena)

3. (= ineffectual) [person, voice, smile, currency, government] → débil; [economy] → débil, flojo; [market] → flojo
they believe it is weak to cry → creen que llorar es signo de debilidad, creen que llorar es de débiles
the dollar is weak against the pound → el dólar está débil en comparación con la libra
to have a weak chin → tener una barbilla poco pronunciada

4. (= poor) [subject, student, team] → flojo
geography is my weak subject → estoy flojo en geografía → la geografía es mi asignatura floja
to be weak at or in sth → flojear en algo, estar flojo en algo
the course was very weak on grammar → el curso era muy flojo en lo referente a gramática
weak point → punto m débil
see also spot A4

5. (= unconvincing) [argument, evidence] → poco sólido, poco convincente; [case] → poco sólido; [excuse, answer] → poco convincente
the film had a weak plot → el argumento de la película era muy flojo

6. (= faint) [light] → débil, tenue; [sun, signal, electric current] → débil; [tide, current] → flojo; [pulse] → débil, flojo

7. (= watery) [coffee, tea, alcoholic drink] → poco cargado; [solution] → diluido

B. NPL the weak → los débiles

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

weak

[ˈwiːk] adj

(= not physically strong) [person] → faible; [leg, muscle] → faible
to grow weaker → s'affaiblir
weak from hunger → affaibli(e) par la faim

(= not normal) [health] → fragile; [heart, stomach] → fragile
weak eyesight → la vue basse
weak hearing → des problèmes d'audition
to have weak eyesight → avoir la vue basse, avoir une mauvaise vue
Ron has weak eyesight → Ron a la vue basse., Ron a une mauvaise vue.

[structure] → peu solide

[tea, coffee] → léger/ère

(= not psychologically strong) [person, character] → faible

[lacking confidence] [voice, smile] → faible

(= unsuccessful) [currency, economy, industry] → faible; [performance] → faible

(= lacking power) [government, leader] → faible
in a weak position → en position de faiblesse

(= unconvincing) [argument, evidence] → faible

weak

adj (+er) → schwach; character → labil; tea, solution etc → dünn; stomach → empfindlich; he was weak from hunger → ihm war schwach vor Hunger; to go/feel weak at the knees (after illness) → sich wackelig fühlen, wackelig or schwach auf den Beinen sein (inf); (with fear, excitement etc) → weiche Knie haben/bekommen; the weaker sex → das schwache Geschlecht; he must be a bit weak in the head (inf) → er ist wohl nicht ganz bei Trost (inf); her maths is weak, she is weak at or in maths → sie ist schwach in Mathe; the dollar is weak against the pound → der Dollar steht schwach zum Pfund; what are his weak points? → wo liegen seine Schwächen?; the weak link (in the chain) → das schwache Glied in der Kette

n the weak pl (= needy, vulnerable) → die Schwachen pl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

weak

[wiːk] adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl))) (gen) → debole; (tea, coffee) → leggero/a; (health) → precario/a; (excuse, effort) → inefficace
to grow weak(er) = to weaken 2
a weak chin → un mento sfuggente
to have weak eyes or eyesight → avere la vista debole
her French is weak, she is weak at French → è scarsa in francese
weak in the head (fam) → tocco/a → toccato/a
to go weak at the knees (with excitement, hunger) → avere le gambe che fanno giacomo giacomo
the weak link in the chain → l'anello debole della catena
weak verb → verbo debole

weak

(wiːk) adjective

1. lacking in physical strength. Her illness has made her very weak.

2. not strong in character. I'm very weak when it comes to giving up cigarettes.

3. (of a liquid) diluted; not strong. weak tea.

4. (of an explanation etc) not convincing.

5. (of a joke) not particularly funny.

ˈweakly adverb

ˈweaken verb

to (cause to) become weak, especially in physical strength or character. The patient has weakened; The strain of the last few days has weakened him.

ˈweakling (-liŋ) noun

a weak person, animal, or plant. She married a weakling.

ˈweakness noun

1. the state of being weak.

2. something weak or faulty; a defect. weaknesses of character; Smoking is one of my weaknesses.

have a weakness for

to have a liking for. She has a weakness for chocolate biscuits.

weak

→ ضَعِيف slabý svag schwach αδύναμος débil heikko faible slab debole 弱い 약한 zwak svak słaby fraco слабый svag อ่อนแอ zayıf yếu 弱的

weak

a. débil, flojo-a, endeble, enclenque; poco fuerte.

weak

adj débil

References in classic literature ?

He has divided his biography into three parts, entitled - `Faith, Hope, Charity.' He is elaborating now the idea of a world planned out like an immense and nice hospital, with gardens and flowers, in which the strong are to devote themselves to the nursing of the weak."

View in context

The streak of chalk bewitcheth the hen; the stroke he struck bewitched his weak reason.

View in context

But his whole conduct, from the moment when he first entered your uncle's house to the present time, has been, I say again, the conduct of an essentially weak man.

View in context

Aching eyes scanned the horizon day and night until the weak and weary watchers would sink exhausted to the bottom of the boat, and there wrest in dream-disturbed slumber a moment's respite from the horrors of the waking reality.

View in context

With much caution I began breaking the bars, one by one; it was hard enough, weak as I was; my thighs were of more service than my hands.

View in context

You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy.

View in context

Berg smiled with a sense of his superiority over a weak woman, and paused, reflecting that this dear wife of his was after all but a weak woman who could not understand all that constitutes a man's dignity, what it was ein Mann zu sein.* Vera at the same time smiling with a sense of superiority over her good, conscientious husband, who all the same understood life wrongly, as according to Vera all men did.

View in context

Certainly, the contemplation of death, as the wages of sin, and passage to another world, is holy and religious; but the fear of it, as a tribute due unto nature, is weak. Yet in religious meditations, there is sometimes mixture of vanity, and of superstition.

View in context

But as he lay there weak and ill the Dwarf came to warn him, for he had spied

View in context

Her voice was so weak that it seemed to come already from a great distance.

View in context

So she bled him, and he fell into a stupor which lasted nearly all that day, so that he awoke weak and exhausted from loss of blood.

View in context

In the struggle for existence, as I have shown, the strong and the progeny of the strong tend to survive, while the weak and the progeny of the weak are crushed and tend to perish.