weak

weak
[[t]wik[/t]]
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[/ex]
4) lacking in rhetorical or creative force or effectiveness
5) lacking in logical or legal force or soundness:
a weak argument[/ex]
6) deficient in mental power, intelligence, or judgment
7) not having much moral strength or force of character:
to prove weak under temptation[/ex]
8) deficient in amount, volume, intensity, etc.; faint; slight:
a weak electrical current; a weak pulse[/ex]
9) deficient, lacking, or poor in something specified:
I'm weak in spelling[/ex]
10) deficient in the essential or usual properties or ingredients:
weak tea[/ex]
11) phn unstressed, as a syllable, vowel, or word
12) gram. (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 24)
13) nut (of wheat or flour) having a low gluten content or having a poor quality of gluten
14) bus characterized by a decline in prices:
a weak stock market[/ex]
Etymology: 1250–1300; ME weik < ON veikr, c. OE wāc

From formal English to slang. 2014.

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  • Weak — (w[=e]k), a. [Compar. {Weaker} (w[=e]k [ e]r); superl. {Weakest}.] [OE. weik, Icel. veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible, pliant, AS. w[=a]c weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G. weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel. v[=i]kja to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • weak — W2S3 [wi:k] adj ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(physical)¦ 2¦(likely to break)¦ 3¦(character)¦ 4¦(without power)¦ 5¦(without interest)¦ 6¦(without energy)¦ 7¦(not good at doing something)¦ 8¦(money)¦ 9¦(argument/idea)¦ 10¦(drink)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • weak — [ wik ] adjective *** ▸ 1 lacking energy ▸ 2 lacking power ▸ 3 easily persuaded ▸ 4 bad in quality ▸ 5 likely to break/fail ▸ 6 with a lot of water ▸ 7 lacking strength ▸ 8 in linguistics 1. ) part of your body that is weak is not as strong or… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • weak — [wiːk] adjective FINANCE 1. if markets, investments, currencies etc are weak, their prices are falling: • The company reported a loss of C$16 million, mostly because of weak metals prices. • The weak dollar has ma …   Financial and business terms

  • weak — [wēk] adj. [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] 1. a) lacking in strength of body or muscle; not physically strong b)… …   English World dictionary

  • weak — weak·en; weak·en·er; weak; weak·ish; weak·li·ness; weak·ness; elec·tro·weak; weak·ling; weak·ly; weak·head·ed·ly; weak·head·ed·ness; weak·heart·ed·ly; weak·heart·ed·ness; weak·ish·ly; weak·ish·ness; weak·kneed·ly; weak·kneed·ness; …   English syllables

  • weak — weak, feeble, frail, fragile, infirm, decrepit can mean not strong enough to bear, resist, or endure strain or pressure or to withstand difficulty, effort, or use. Weak is by far the widest in its range of application, being not only… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Weak — is a generic adjective pertaining to a general state of feebleness, a lack of strength, durability, or vigor. Contents 1 Music 2 Other 3 See also …   Wikipedia

  • weak — [adj1] not strong anemic, debilitated, decrepit, delicate, effete, enervated, exhausted, faint, feeble, flaccid, flimsy, forceless, fragile, frail, hesitant, impuissant, infirm, insubstantial, irresolute, lackadaisical*, languid, languorous, limp …   New thesaurus

  • weak — c.1300, from O.N. veikr weak, cognate with O.E. wac weak, pliant, soft, from P.Gmc. *waikwaz yield, *wikanan bend (Cf. O.S. wek, Swed. vek, M.Du. weec, Du. week weak, soft, tender, O.H.G. weih …   Etymology dictionary

  • weak´en|er — weak|en «WEE kuhn», transitive verb. to make weak or weaker: »You can weaken tea by adding water. –v.i. 1. to grow or become weak or weaker. 2. to take a less firm attitude; give way: »We are almost to the top of the mountain; let s not weaken… …   Useful english dictionary

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