Weak-kneed

adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Lacking will power or strength of character; timid. figuratively

    "It is incontrovertible that the children grow up into rotten adults, without virility or stamina, a weak-kneed, narrow-chested, listless breed, that crumples up and goes down in the brute struggle for life."

  2. 2
    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see weak, kneed.
Adjective
  1. 1
    lacking will power or resolution wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
afraidbonelesschickenchickenchicken-heartedcowardly

Example

More examples

"It is incontrovertible that the children grow up into rotten adults, without virility or stamina, a weak-kneed, narrow-chested, listless breed, that crumples up and goes down in the brute struggle for life."

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.