weak Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective wanting in physical strength
    • a weak pillar
  2. adjective satellite overly diluted; thin and insipid
    watery; washy.
    • washy coffee
    • watery milk
    • weak tea
  3. adjective satellite (used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress
    light; unaccented.
    • a syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable
    • a weak stress on the second syllable
  4. adjective satellite wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings
    fallible; imperfect; frail.
    • I'm only a fallible human
    • frail humanity
  5. adjective satellite tending downward in price
    • a weak market for oil stocks
  6. adjective satellite deficient or lacking in some skill
    • he's weak in spelling
  7. adjective satellite lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    weakly; sapless; feeble; decrepit; infirm; rickety; debile.
    • a feeble old woman
    • her body looked sapless
  8. adjective satellite (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection
  9. adjective satellite not having authority, political strength, or governing power
    • a weak president
  10. adjective satellite deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
    faint.
    • 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
  11. adjective satellite likely to fail under stress or pressure
    • the weak link in the chain
  12. adjective satellite deficient in intelligence or mental power
    • a weak mind

WordNet

Weak adjective
Etymology
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. to yield, give way. *132. Cf. Week, Wink, v. i. Vicissitude.
Wordforms
comparative Weaker ; superlative Weakest
Definitions
  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) 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). ✍ 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 transitive verb & intransitive verb
Etymology
Cf. AS. wcan. wacian. See Weak, a.
Definitions
  1. To make or become weak; to weaken. R.
    Never to seek weaking variety. Marston.

Webster 1913