weak

adjective

WEEK/wiːk/

Formsweaker, weakest

19 meanings of weak

Practice

1
lacking strengthadjective
Not strong, without much power, force, or ability.
Like a kitten that can barely push open a door.
He felt weak after being sick for a week.
Her arms were too weak to lift the box.
UsageUse from or with for the reason (weak from hunger), and too weak to + verb.
Similarfeeble, frail, puny, infirm, delicate
Oppositestrong, powerful, robust
Note
2
adjective
Not strong or effective, not widespread, or hard to feel or notice.
Like a whisper you can barely hear across a noisy room.
The radio signal was weak inside the tunnel.
A weak smell of smoke came from the kitchen.
Similarfaint, poor, low, feeble, slack
Oppositestrong, powerful, robust
3
adjective
Not able to hold up heavy weight or pressure without breaking.
Like a thin twig that breaks when you step on it.
The old bridge was too weak to hold the truck.
Don't stand on that weak shelf, or it will break.
Similarflimsy, fragile, rickety, unsound, shaky
Oppositestrong, sturdy, solid, robust
4
poor atadjective
Not good at a subject or activity because you know little about it or have little skill.
I'm weak in math, but I'm good at art.
He was the weakest swimmer in the class, so he took extra lessons.
UsageSay weak in or weak at something: weak in math.
Similarpoor, shaky
Oppositestrong, good
5
adjective
Easily tempted or persuaded, and not able to say no or stay firm.
Like a door that opens for anyone who pushes a little.
He is weak when it comes to chocolate cake.
She felt too weak to refuse their offer.
UsageOften too weak to say no; for something you love too much, say a weakness for it.
Similarspineless, irresolute, pliable, susceptible, soft
Oppositeresolute, firm, determined
Note
6
not convincingadjective
Not able to convince others because it is not backed by good reasons.
Like a tower built on sand that falls at the first push.
His excuse was weak, and nobody believed him.
The lawyer's argument was weak and easy to challenge.
Similarflimsy, unconvincing, shaky, feeble, thin
Oppositestrong, convincing, compelling, solid
7
watery (drinks)adjective
Not strong in taste, usually because too much water was added.
Like juice with so much water you can hardly taste the fruit.
This tea is too weak; I can barely taste it.
She made the coffee weak so the kids could drink it.
Similarwatery, diluted, thin, insipid
Oppositestrong, concentrated
8
adjectiveslang
Bad, disappointing, or not cool.
The party was so weak that we left after ten minutes.
That joke was weak, and nobody even smiled.
UsageUse it with friends, as in that's weak; in serious writing people may think you mean not strong.
Similarlame, lousy, pathetic, poor
Oppositecool, great, impressive
Note
9
adjective
Not lively or full of feeling, just dull and flat.
Like a song sung so quietly it has no life in it.
The actor gave a weak performance with no energy.
Her speech felt weak and put the audience to sleep.
Similarfeeble, flat, lifeless, limp, insipid
Oppositestrong, powerful, forceful, vigorous
Note
10
adjective
Describing a market or price that is falling or likely to fall.
Like a slope that keeps tilting downward, pulling prices lower with it.
The stock market was weak all week, and prices kept dropping.
Oil prices stayed weak after the news about lower demand.
UsageA currency is weak against another one: weak against the dollar.
Similarsoft, depressed, bearish
Oppositestrong, firm, buoyant, bullish
Note
11
adjective
Showing poor judgment or a lack of good sense, and not wise.
Like taking the easy path even when you know it leads nowhere.
It was a weak decision that he later regretted.
Giving up so soon was a weak choice.
Similarindecisive, foolish
Oppositefirm, decisive

Less common meanings

12
deeply fondadjective
Feeling a deep, helpless love for someone or something.
Like melting inside every time you see someone you love.
She's so weak for her new puppy that she buys it treats every day.
He gets weak whenever she smiles at him from across the room.
UsageSay weak for someone you love, or go weak at the knees.
Similarsmitten, besotted
13
nuclear forceadjective
Describing the fundamental force that controls certain kinds of radioactive decay in atoms.
Like a quiet rule hidden inside atoms that makes some of them slowly fall apart.
The weak force can turn one kind of atom into another.
Scientists study how the weak force acts inside tiny particles.
Oppositestrong
Note
14
adjective
Describing an acid or base that only partly breaks apart into charged particles in water.
Like a crowd where only a few people split off while most stay together.
Vinegar contains a weak acid that does not fully break apart in water.
Ammonia is a weak base, so only a few of its particles turn into ions in water.
Oppositestrong
Note
15
low contrastadjective
Describing a photo or image that shows little difference between light and dark areas.
Like a foggy day where everything blurs into the same dull gray.
The photo looked weak because the dark and light parts were almost the same.
A weak image can sometimes be fixed by adding more contrast.
Similarflat
Oppositestrong, contrasty
Note
16
adjectivephonetics
Said lightly and with no stress, as many parts of words and short words are in everyday speech.
In the word "banana," the first and last parts are weak.
Many people use the weak form of "can" when they talk fast.
Similarunstressed, reduced
Oppositestrong, stressed
Note
17
regular (verbs)adjective
Describing a verb that adds -d or -t to make its past forms, like play and played or keep and kept.
Like adding the same little ending every time instead of reshaping the word.
The verb 'walk' is weak because its past tense is just 'walked'.
Most new verbs in English are weak and simply add -ed.
Similarregular
Oppositestrong
Note
18
adjective
Describing a statement that says less than a stronger one, so it is easier to prove.
19
adjective
In grammar, describing the set of word endings used in languages like German after words such as "the".

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of weak apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old Norse veikr, meaning "weak." It goes back to an old root meaning "to bend."

Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Weak derives from Old Norse veikr. en.wiktionary.org
Old Norse veikr meant “weak.” en.wiktionary.org
Weak ultimately goes back to a root meaning “to bend.” en.wiktionary.org