Weakness

//ˈwiːk.nɪs// noun

noun ·Very common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The condition of being weak. uncountable

    "Near-synonyms: debility, frailty, vulnerability; vincibility"

  2. 2
    the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain wordnet
  3. 3
    An inadequate quality; fault. countable

    "His inability to speak in front of an audience was his weakness."

  4. 4
    powerlessness revealed by an inability to act wordnet
  5. 5
    A special fondness or obsessing desire. countable

    "She is an athlete who has a weakness for chocolate."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    a penchant for something even though it might not be good for you wordnet
  2. 7
    a flaw or weak point wordnet
  3. 8
    the condition of being financially weak wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
delicacyfailingfaultfeeblenessvulnerability;

Example

More examples

"Unfair advantage was taken of Bill's weakness."

Etymology

From Middle English wayknesse, weykenesse, replacing earlier Middle English wocnesse, wakenes, wacnesse (“weakness”), from Old English wācnes (“weakness”). Equivalent to weak + -ness.

Related phrases

longer version

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