weak
weak — adjective
1. having little physical power or energy, so that your body cannot make much effor
having little physical power or energy, so that your body cannot make much effort, carry heavy things, or fight illness well.
After three days with the flu, Lan felt too weak to walk to the kitchen.
collocation: feel weak + too weak to + infinitive
After running up five flights of stairs, Mateo's legs were too weak to carry him any further.
collocation: body part + too weak to + infinitive
Ayesha's legs felt weak after she ran the full ten-kilometre race.
collocation: body part + feel weak
The puppy was born very weak and needed special milk from the vet.
Jude lifted weights every day so his arms would not stay weak.
- weak muscles
- weak legs
- feel weak
- grow weak
- too weak to
- born weak
Grammar Patterns
weak + noun
too weak to + infinitive
feel/look/sound weak
Usage Note
Frequently used after verbs of bodily sensation such as feel, look, or sound. Often intensified with very or too in descriptions of illness or exhaustion.
Common Mistakes
2. not having the strength of mind to make your own decisions, say no to others, or
not having the strength of mind to make your own decisions, say no to others, or lead people firmly.
The manager was too weak to tell staff when their work was not good enough.
too weak to + infinitive (character sense)
Bilal felt weak for agreeing to write his friend's homework just to avoid an argument.
A weak leader who cannot say no often loses the respect of the whole team.
attributive: weak leader
Soraya called her brother weak for giving in to every demand from his children.
Andrew knew it was weak to cancel his plans just because his friend disagreed.
- weak character
- weak will
- weak leader
- too weak to
- weak-willed person
- spineless
more informal and insulting, suggests a complete lack of courage
- timid
focuses on shyness and fear rather than lack of willpower
- submissive
suggests willingly obeying others, not necessarily weak-willed
- strong-willed
having firm determination and resolve
- assertive
expressing opinions confidently without aggression
Grammar Patterns
weak + noun (leader, person, character)
too weak to + infinitive
Usage Note
Common after too...to constructions. Can be used as an adjective describing either a person or their actions (a weak decision, a weak response).
Common Mistakes
3. not strong or convincing enough to make people believe or accept what you are sa
not strong or convincing enough to make people believe or accept what you are saying.
Carlos gave a weak excuse that his manager did not believe for a second.
attributive: weak excuse
The lawyer pointed out several weak points in the story that the witness told.
collocation: weak point / weak spot
Andrew's argument for leaving the team was based on very weak evidence.
collocation: weak evidence
Iris knew her reasons were weak when even her best friend disagreed.
The teacher rejected the project proposal because the research behind it was weak.
- weak argument
- weak excuse
- weak evidence
- weak reason
- weak point
- weak spot
- unconvincing
direct synonym, more formal, focuses on the listener's reaction
- flimsy
suggests the excuse or argument is clearly insubstantial, almost transparently false
- feeble
stronger criticism, suggests the argument is laughably weak
- convincing
persuasive and believable
- strong
well-supported and difficult to argue against
Grammar Patterns
weak + noun (argument, excuse, reason, evidence)
weak point / weak spot
Usage Note
Almost always used attributively (before a noun like argument, excuse, reason, or evidence) or predicatively with the subject being an argument or claim. The noun explains what is unconvincing.
Common Mistakes
4. (of a drink) containing much more water than the main ingredient, so the taste i
(of a drink) containing much more water than the main ingredient, so the taste is not strong.
Mira complained that the coffee was so weak it tasted like warm brown water.
collocation: weak coffee
The restaurant served weak tea that had almost no flavour at all.
collocation: weak tea
Lan prefers weak orange juice because she does not like very sour drinks.
The children complained that the lemonade was too weak and asked for more syrup to be added.
collocation: weak lemonade
The bar sold a weak beer that tasted mostly of fizzy water.
- weak tea
- weak coffee
- weak beer
- weak juice
- weak soup
- strong
having a rich, concentrated flavour
- concentrated
full-strength, not diluted
Grammar Patterns
weak + noun (tea, coffee, beer, juice)
Usage Note
Commonly used with hot drinks (tea, coffee) and alcoholic drinks (beer). The opposite is strong. In cooking contexts, weak can also describe broth or soup.
Common Mistakes
5. (in chemistry) releasing only a small number of charged particles (ions) when di
(in chemistry) releasing only a small number of charged particles (ions) when dissolved in water, so the chemical reaction is mild.
Vinegar contains a weak acid that is safe to use in salad dressing.
collocation: weak acid
In the lab, the students tested how weak acids react with different metals.
Unlike strong acids, a weak acid does not burn or damage human skin right away.
Élise learned that weak bases are often found in household cleaning products.
collocation: weak base
The chemistry teacher explained why a weak alkali produces fewer hydroxide ions.
- weak acid
- weak base
- weak alkali
- weak solution
- strong
(of acid/base) fully ionising in solution
Grammar Patterns
weak + noun (acid, base, alkali, solution)
Usage Note
A technical term in chemistry. The opposite is strong (strong acid, strong base). The degree of ionisation, not the concentration, determines whether an acid or base is weak.
Common Mistakes
6. not performing or working as well as people normally expect in a particular area
not performing or working as well as people normally expect in a particular area.
Maths has always been Iris's weakest subject at school.
superlative: weakest subject
The team's defense was weak, so the other side scored three goals easily.
Lakan gave a weak performance in the piano recital and felt very disappointed.
collocation: weak performance
A weak spot in the company's business plan was discovered too late to fix.
collocation: weak spot / weak link
The English department is weak in teaching writing skills, according to the survey.
- weak subject
- weak performance
- weak area
- weak spot
- weak link
- weak in/at
- poor
more direct and general, can describe quality without implying comparison
- inadequate
more formal, suggests failure to meet a required standard
- unsatisfactory
focuses on not meeting expectations rather than lack of skill
Grammar Patterns
weak + noun (subject, performance, area, link)
weakest + noun
weak in/at + noun phrase
Usage Note
Can describe a person, a team, or an area of work. When describing a person, prefer 'weak in/at [area]' rather than just 'weak' to avoid confusion with the character sense (sense 2).
Common Mistakes
7. describes a chin that is small and slopes backward toward the neck instead of pr
describes a chin that is small and slopes backward toward the neck instead of projecting forward from the face.
Eve's weak chin made her face look rounder than she wanted.
The dentist explained that a weak chin can affect how the upper and lower teeth meet.
collocation: weak chin + dental/medical context
Jabari grew a short beard to balance the appearance of his weak chin.
From the side, the model's weak chin made her jawline look less defined.
- weak chin
8. lacking the ability to think clearly, understand ideas, or learn new things quic
lacking the ability to think clearly, understand ideas, or learn new things quickly.
The student's weak grasp of basic math made the advanced class very difficult.
collocation: weak grasp of [subject]
Aarav's weak understanding of the safety rules nearly caused an accident in the lab.
Priya's weak performance on the final exam surprised her parents and teachers alike.
The committee rejected the proposal because of its weak logic and missing evidence.
- weak grasp
- weak memory
- weak understanding
- weak logic
Usage Note
Applied directly to a person ('He is weak') can sound insulting; it is often better to describe their reasoning, grasp, or performance instead.
Common Mistakes
9. not strong or intense enough to be easily seen, heard, felt, smelled, or noticed
not strong or intense enough to be easily seen, heard, felt, smelled, or noticed by the senses.
A weak light came through the curtains just before sunrise.
collocation: weak light
Nellie heard a weak knock at the door but did not get up to answer it.
The radio signal was too weak to pick up any stations in the mountain cabin.
collocation: weak signal
A weak smell of burned toast hung in the kitchen after breakfast.
The old flashlight produced only a weak beam that barely lit the path ahead.
- weak light
- weak signal
- weak smell
- weak sound
- weak beam
Usage Note
Often used with sensory nouns: weak light, weak sound, weak smell, weak signal. The opposite is strong or bright (for light) or loud (for sound).
Common Mistakes
10. in linguistics, describing a verb whose past-tense and past-participle forms are
in linguistics, describing a verb whose past-tense and past-participle forms are built with a suffix such as -ed, -d, or -t placed at the end, rather than through a change in the vowel.
The verb 'walk' is a weak verb because its past form 'walked' takes the regular -ed ending.
pattern: weak verb marked by -ed/-d/-t ending
Most new English verbs enter the language as weak verbs because the regular pattern is easier to follow.
Joaquín found weak verbs easier to learn than strong ones because the past tense did not change the vowel.
In grammar lessons, weak verbs are often called regular verbs and strong verbs are called irregular.
- weak verb
- weak inflection
- regular
the everyday term used in school grammar
Usage Note
This is a technical term in linguistics. In English-language classrooms, weak verbs are more commonly called 'regular verbs.'
Common Mistakes
11. describes a word or syllable that is not stressed when spoken naturally, so that
describes a word or syllable that is not stressed when spoken naturally, so that its vowel sound becomes shorter or less clear.
In the phrase 'fish and chips,' the word 'and' takes its weak form and sounds like /n/.
pattern: weak form of function words in connected speech
The weak form of the word 'to' sounds like /tə/ before a consonant.
Femi struggled to hear the weak vowel in the middle of the long sentence.
Learners of English often need practice recognizing weak forms in fast, natural speech.
- weak form
- weak vowel
- weak syllable
- unstressed
broader term; applies to any syllable that receives no stress, whether or not the vowel is reduced
- reduced
focuses on the shortening or weakening of the vowel sound itself
Usage Note
This term belongs to phonetics and phonology. Weak forms are most common for function words such as prepositions, auxiliary verbs, and conjunctions.
12. describes an economy, market, or currency that is not performing well, with fall
describes an economy, market, or currency that is not performing well, with falling prices, low demand, or reduced value.
A weak economy usually means fewer jobs are available for new graduates.
collocation: weak economy
Investors worried about the weak dollar and moved their savings into gold.
Pim decided to sell his shares when the market turned weak in early autumn.
Sales reports showed a weak performance in the electronics sector last quarter.
A weak housing market can be good for buyers but difficult for homeowners who want to sell.
Usage Note
Common in financial news. Often paired with nouns like economy, market, demand, currency, dollar, and sector. The opposite in financial contexts is strong.
You want to do good things, but you are too lazy, tired, or busy to actually do them.
Mia planned to exercise daily, but the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak.
I intended to finish the report, but the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak.
weak at the knees
idiomUnable to stand steadily because of strong emotion, fear, or illness.
When Brian saw the giant spider, he went weak at the knees.
Sara felt weak at the knees as she accepted the award.
The part of a system or group that is most likely to cause failure.
In our team, the weak link is the outdated software.
Diego identified the weak link in the security system.
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: adjective/1
Weak 是最通用的詞，可形容身體無力、意志不堅、論證無說服力等多種情況，使用範圍最廣。Feeble 語氣較強，帶有「可憐、不中用」的負面色彩，常用於老人或因病而極度虛弱的狀態（a feeble old man）。Frail 強調身材纖細、骨架單薄，常用於形容年長者或體質天生孱弱的人（a frail grandmother）。Fragile 原指物品「易碎」，用於人時則強調身體或情緒狀態非常脆弱、經不起打擊（fragile health, emotionally fragile）。Vulnerable 則著重於「容易受到傷害或攻擊」，不一定與體力有關，更多指處於危險或不利的處境（vulnerable children, vulnerable position）。總結來說：weak 最中性、使用最普遍；feeble 帶貶義且語氣最強；frail 專指體型單薄；fragile 強調一碰就壞的脆弱感；vulnerable 則側重於暴露在危險之中。
Common collocations
Etymology
Old Norse "veikr" (pliant, soft, lacking strength) passed into Middle English as "weik" or "wayke". It is related to Old High German "weih" (modern German "weich" meaning soft) and ultimately from Proto-Germanic "*waikwaz" (yielding, pliant). The sense of "lacking moral strength" developed by the 13th century, and the financial/economic sense emerged in the 19th century.