Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Lacking physical strength or force: Not strong; easily broken, damaged, or defeated.
   • Lacking power, influence, or authority: Not having much political strength, governing power, or persuasive force.
   • Not good at something; deficient in a skill or area: Lacking ability or proficiency in a particular subject or activity.
   • Not convincing or forceful: Lacking logical strength, persuasive power, or clear evidence.
   • Diluted; lacking intensity: Having little flavor, color, sound, or strength due to being mixed with too much of something else (e.g., water).
   • Likely to fail: Being the point most likely to break or cause failure in a system or chain.
   • (Of a grammatical inflection) following the regular pattern: In grammar, describing verbs that form their past tense and past participle by adding "-ed" or "-d".

Usage Examples

• Physical Strength:
  • After his illness, his legs felt very weak.
  • The bridge was closed because its supports were weak.
• Power/Authority:
  • The country has a weak central government.
  • His argument was weak and failed to convince anyone.
• Skill Deficiency:
  • She is weak in mathematics but excels in languages.
  • The team's weak defense cost them the game.
• Lacking Intensity:
  • I prefer weak tea with lots of milk.
  • The patient had a weak pulse.
• Point of Failure:
  • The goalkeeper is the weak link in their soccer team.
• Grammar:
  • In English, "walk" is a weak verb; its past tense is "walked".

Advanced Usage

• "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak": An idiom meaning one's intentions are good, but one lacks the physical ability or willpower to carry them out.
  • I wanted to finish the report, but the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak, and I fell asleep.
• "A weak moment": A short period when one's resolve is not strong, often leading to a poor decision.
  • In a weak moment, I agreed to lend him more money.

Variants and Related Words

• Weaken (verb): To make or become weak or weaker.
  • The storm weakened the structure of the house.
• Weakness (noun):
  • The state or condition of being weak.

    • Muscle weakness is a common symptom.
  • A particular failing or flaw in character.

    • His biggest weakness is his pride.
  • A special fondness for something.

    • I have a weakness for chocolate cake.
• Weakly (adverb): In a weak manner.
  • He smiled weakly from his hospital bed.

Synonyms

• Feeble: Lacking strength, often pitifully so.
• Frail: Delicate and easily broken, often referring to health or structure.
• Faint: Barely perceptible (e.g., sound, light, hope).
• Powerless: Lacking power or authority.
• Diluted: Made thinner or weaker by adding another substance.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Weak at/in (something): To be deficient in a particular skill or subject area.
  • He is weak at spelling.
  • She is weak in her understanding of physics.

Related Idioms

• Weak-kneed: Lacking courage or determination; easily frightened.
  • Don't be weak-kneed; stand up for what you believe in.
• (As) weak as water: Extremely weak in character or physical strength.
  • His argument was as weak as water and didn't convince anyone.

Adjective

1. deficient in intelligence or mental power
   • a weak mind
2. likely to fail under stress or pressure
   • the weak link in the chain
3. 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
4. not having authority, political strength, or governing power
   • a weak president
5. (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection
6. lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
   • a feeble old woman
   • her body looked sapless
7. deficient or lacking in some skill
   • he's weak in spelling
8. tending downward in price
   • a weak market for oil stocks
9. 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
10. (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
11. overly diluted; thin and insipid
    • washy coffee
    • watery milk
    • weak tea
12. wanting in physical strength
    • a weak pillar