weakness

noun

WEEK-nuhs/ˈwiːk.nəs/

Pluralweaknesses (some meanings)

3 meanings of weakness

1
noununcountable
The state of not being strong in body, mind, or structure.
Like a battery that has almost run out of power.
After the fever, the weakness in his legs made walking hard.
Months of poor sleep left her with a constant weakness.
Similarfrailty, feebleness, fragility, debility, infirmity
Oppositestrength, power, invincibility, invulnerability
2
nouncountable
A part of someone or something that is not good enough, or a fault.
Like a chain that has one link weaker than the rest.
The main weakness of his plan was that it cost too much.
Poor spelling is one of her biggest weaknesses.
Similarflaw, defect, fault
Oppositestrength, forte
3
nouncountable
A strong liking for something that you find very hard to resist.
Like loving candy so much that you can never say no to it.
Chocolate is her one real weakness.
He has a weakness for old cars and buys far too many.
Similarfondness, penchant, liking, passion, love
Oppositeaversion, dislike, distaste

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of weakness apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from the word 'weak' plus '-ness'. An older English form was 'wocnesse' from Old English 'wācnes'.