weak|en

weak|en
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 now.

weak´en|er, noun.
Synonym Study transitive verb. Weaken, undermine, debilitate mean to cause to lose strength, energy, or power. Weaken is the general word: »

Poor organization weakened his argument.

Undermine means to weaken gradually by working secretly or treacherously: »

Rumors undermined confidence in the company's stock.

Debilitate means to make (a person's constitution or mind) weak or feeble by damaging and taking away vitality or strength: »

He was debilitated by disease.


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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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