What does "weak" mean?
Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
Weak
/wiːk/ adj, slang
adj, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
- Grammar: weak is listed as adj, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: feeble, frail, abulic, accented.
- Useful contrasts: able-bodied, athletic, beautiful.
- Usage evidence: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
How to use "weak"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "weak" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "weak" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "weak" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "weak" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "weak" is acting as adj, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "feeble" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "weak", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
"The child was too weak to move the boulder."
- 2 Unable to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain.
"a weak timber; a weak rope"
- 3 Limp, soft.
- 4 Unable to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable.
"weak resolutions; weak virtue"
- 5 Having a strong, irrepressible emotional love for someone or (less often) something; sentimentally affected by such love. often
"'Cause sugar pie, honey bunch You know that I'm weak for you Can't help myself I love you and nobody else"
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 Dilute, lacking in taste or potency.
"That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired."
- 7 Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:; Regular in inflection, lacking vowel changes and having a past tense with -d- or -t-.
- 8 Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:; Showing less distinct grammatical endings.
- 9 Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:; Definite in meaning, often used with a definite article or similar word.
- 10 That does not ionize completely into anions and cations in a solution.
"a weak acid"
- 11 One of the four fundamental forces associated with nuclear decay.
- 12 Bad or uncool. slang
"This place is weak."
- 13 Having a narrow range of logical consequences; narrowly applicable. (Often contrasted with a strong statement which implies it.)
- 14 Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
"If evil thence ensue, / She first his weak indulgence will accuse."
- 15 Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained.
"The prosecution advanced a weak case."
- 16 Lacking in vigour or expression.
"a weak sentence; a weak style"
- 17 Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble.
"Thy threats have no more strength than her weak prayers."
- 18 Tending towards lower prices.
"a weak market; wheat is weak at present"
- 19 Lacking contrast.
"a weak negative"
Adjective
- 1 deficient in intelligence or mental power wordnet
- 2 overly diluted; thin and insipid wordnet
- 3 likely to fail under stress or pressure wordnet
- 4 wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings wordnet
- 5 deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 not having authority, political strength, or governing power wordnet
- 7 (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection wordnet
- 8 lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality wordnet
- 9 deficient or lacking in some skill wordnet
- 10 (used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress wordnet
- 11 wanting in physical strength wordnet
- 12 tending downward in price wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "weak"?
Common synonyms include: feeble, frail, abulic, accented, accessible, achromatic.
How do you use "weak" in a sentence?
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
How do you pronounce "weak"?
Pronounced /wiːk/.
Etymology
From Middle English weyk, wayk, weik, waik, from Old Norse veikr (“weak”), from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz (“weak, yielded, pliant, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to bend, wind”). Cognate with Old English wāc (“weak, bendsome”), Saterland Frisian wook (“soft, gentle, tender”), West Frisian weak (“soft”), Dutch week (“soft, weak”), German weich (“weak, soft”), Norwegian veik (“weak”), Swedish vek (“weak, pliant”), Icelandic veikur (“bendsome, weak”). Related to Old English wīcan (“to yield”). Doublet of week and wick.