Definition of weak

< we

weaken >

weak    (wk) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:
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.
4. Lacking the proper strength or amount of ingredients: weak coffee.
5. Lacking the ability to function normally or fully: a weak heart.
6. Lacking aptitude or skill: a weak student; weak in math.
7. Lacking or resulting from a lack of intelligence.
8. Lacking persuasiveness; unconvincing: a weak argument.
9. Lacking authority or the power to govern.
10. Lacking potency or intensity: weak sunlight.
11. Linguistics
    1. 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.
    2. Of, relating to, or being the inflection of nouns or adjectives in Germanic languages with a declensional suffix that historically contained an n.
12. Unstressed or unaccented in pronunciation or poetic meter. Used of a word or syllable.
13. 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.
14. Tending downward in price: a weak market for oil stocks.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English weike, from Old Norse veikr, pliant; see weik-² 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.