Need another word that means the same as “weak”? Find 67 synonyms and 30 related words for “weak” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Weak” are: faint, light, unaccented, washy, watery, fallible, frail, imperfect, debile, decrepit, feeble, infirm, rickety, sapless, weakly, puny, fragile, delicate, inadequate, poor, unconvincing, untenable, tenuous, implausible, unsatisfactory, slight, thin, transparent, irresolute, spineless, craven, cowardly, pusillanimous, timorous, timid, indecisive, ineffectual, useless, inept, effete, meek, tame, powerless, ineffective, impotent, namby-pamby, soft, lily-livered, faint-hearted, dim, pale, wan, dull, muted, diluted, dilute, thinned down, adulterated, tasteless, flavourless, bland, insipid, mild, unenthusiastic, half-hearted, limp, lame
Weak as an Adjective
Definitions of "Weak" as an adjective
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “weak” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
- Liable to break or give way under pressure; easily damaged.
- Having standard (or regular) inflection.
- Wanting in physical strength.
- Not having authority, political strength, or governing power.
- (of prices or a market) having a downward tendency.
- Exerting only a small force.
- (of a faculty or part of the body) not able to fulfil its functions properly.
- Tending downward in price.
- Lacking the force of character to hold to one's own decisions, beliefs, or principles; irresolute.
- Lacking intensity or brightness.
- (of a team or military force) containing too few members or members of insufficient quality.
- Displaying or characterized by a lack of enthusiasm or energy.
- Lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality.
- Not convincing or logically forceful.
- Overly diluted; thin and insipid.
- Lacking power or influence.
- Of a low standard; performing or performed badly.
- Deficient in intelligence or mental power.
- Lacking the power to perform physically demanding tasks; having little physical strength or energy.
- (used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection.
- (of a belief) not held with conviction or intensity.
- (of features) not striking or strongly marked.
- (used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress.
- Deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc.
- (of a syllable) unstressed.
- Wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings.
- Denoting a class of verbs in Germanic languages that form the past tense and past participle by addition of a suffix (in English, typically -ed).
- Likely to fail under stress or pressure.
- Deficient or lacking in some skill.
- (of a liquid or solution) heavily diluted.
- Pronounced with little or no stress.
- Relating to or denoting the weakest of the known kinds of force between particles, which acts only at distances less than about 10⁻¹⁵ cm, is very much weaker than the electromagnetic and the strong interactions, and conserves neither strangeness, parity, nor isospin.
Synonyms of "Weak" as an adjective (67 Words)
adulterated | Mixed with impurities. |
bland | Lacking taste or flavor or tang. A bland and unadventurous vegetarian dish. |
cowardly | Lacking courage. Cowardly dogs ye will not aid me then. |
craven | Lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful- Spenser. A craven abdication of his moral duty. |
debile | Lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality. |
decrepit | Lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality. A decrepit bus its seats held together with friction tape. |
delicate | (of food or drink) subtly and pleasantly flavoured. Delicate negotiations with the big powers. |
dilute | (of colour or light) weak or low in concentration. Dilute sun. |
diluted | Made weaker in force, content, or value by modification. Diluted alcohol. |
dim | Made dim or less bright. Dimmed headlights. |
dull | Emitting or reflecting very little light. A dull political campaign. |
effete | Deprived of vigor and the ability to be effective. He chatted away exercising his rather effete charm. |
faint | Indistinctly understood or felt or perceived. Haven t the faintest idea. |
faint-hearted | Lacking conviction or boldness or courage. |
fallible | Wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings. Everyone is fallible to some degree. |
feeble | Lacking strength. Her feeble cries of pain. |
flavourless | Lacking taste or flavor or tang. The soup was thin and flavourless. |
fragile | Vulnerably delicate. She has the fragile beauty of youth. |
frail | Easily broken or damaged or destroyed. She looked frail and vulnerable. |
half-hearted | Feeling or showing little interest or enthusiasm. |
imperfect | (of a gift, title, etc.) transferred without all the necessary conditions or requirements being met. Imperfect mortals. |
implausible | Highly imaginative but unlikely. This is a blatantly implausible claim. |
impotent | Lacking power or ability- Freeman J.Dyson. He was seized with an impotent anger. |
inadequate | Lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task. A sad solitary inadequate man. |
indecisive | Not providing a clear and definite result. He was too indecisive to carry out his political programme. |
ineffective | Lacking in power or forcefulness. An ineffective teacher. |
ineffectual | (of a person) lacking the ability or qualities to fulfil a role or handle a situation. The therapy was ineffectual. |
inept | Generally incompetent and ineffectual. Inept handling of the account. |
infirm | Lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality. Those who were old or infirm. |
insipid | Lacking vigour or interest. Many artists continued to churn out insipid shallow works. |
irresolute | Showing or feeling hesitancy; uncertain. The committee was timid and mediocre and irresolute. |
lame | (of a person) naive or socially inept. The TV licensing teams hear a lot of lame excuses. |
light | Characterized by or emitting light. A light load. |
lily-livered | Easily frightened. |
limp | Lacking in strength or firmness or resilience G.K.Chesterton. A limp gesture as if waving away all desire to know. |
meek | Very docile- Langston Hughes. She brought her meek little husband along. |
mild | Mild and pleasant. A mild rebuke. |
muted | (of a sound or voice) quiet and soft. A dress in muted tones of powder blue and dusty pink. |
namby-pamby | Weak in willpower, courage or vitality. |
pale | Abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress. The pale or wan stars. |
poor | Of a low or inferior standard or quality. The area was poor in timber and coal. |
powerless | Lacking power. Troops were powerless to stop last night s shooting. |
puny | Inferior in strength or significance. Puny excuses. |
pusillanimous | Lacking in courage and manly strength and resolution; contemptibly fearful. |
rickety | Inclined to shake as from weakness or defect. Rickety limbs and joints. |
sapless | Destitute of sap and other vital juices; dry- Norman Mailer. Her body looked sapless. |
slight | (of a person or their build) not sturdy; thin or slender. A slight increase. |
soft | Soft and mild not harsh or stern or severe. The soft sciences. |
spineless | Having no spine or backbone; invertebrate. Spineless forms of prickly pear have been selected. |
tame | Brought from wildness into a domesticated state. Tame animals. |
tasteless | Lacking flavour. The vegetables were watery and tasteless. |
tenuous | Lacking substance or significance. A tenuous cloud. |
thin | Relatively thin in consistency or low in density not viscous. His thin jacket. |
thinned down | Relatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous. |
timid | Showing a lack of courage or confidence; easily frightened. I was too timid to ask for what I wanted. |
timorous | Showing or suffering from nervousness or a lack of confidence. In a timorous tone. |
transparent | Having thoughts or feelings that are easily perceived; open. A transparent lie. |
unaccented | Pronounced with little or no stress. His English is fluent and unaccented. |
unconvincing | Not convincing. She felt the lie was unconvincing. |
unenthusiastic | Not enthusiastic; lacking excitement or ardor. An unenthusiastic performance by the orchestra. |
unsatisfactory | Not giving satisfaction. Her performance proved to be unsatisfactory. |
untenable | (of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified. This argument is clearly untenable. |
useless | Not fulfilling or not expected to achieve the intended purpose or desired outcome. A piece of useless knowledge. |
wan | (of the sea) without lustre; dark and gloomy. A wan smile. |
washy | Overly diluted; thin and insipid. Washy coffee. |
watery | Thin or tasteless as a result of containing too much water. Watery milk. |
weakly | Sickly; not robust. If the lambs were weakly we had to feed them by hand. |
Usage Examples of "Weak" as an adjective
- She was recovering from flu, and was very weak.
- She managed a weak, nervous smile.
- A weak market for oil stocks.
- A weak president.
- The central government had grown too weak to impose order.
- His beard covered a weak chin.
- A weak pulse.
- A weak plot.
- The weak link in the chain.
- The choruses on this recording are weak.
- He had a weak stomach.
- Weak colors.
- Weak tea.
- The new king used his powers to protect the weak.
- A weak pillar.
- The argument is an extremely weak one.
- A weak stress on the second syllable.
- He's weak in spelling.
- A weak mind.
- A weak magnetic field.
- Their commitment to the project is weak.
- The salamander's tail may be broken off at a weak spot near the base.
- He was not weak or a compromiser.
- Their problems arose from fielding weak teams in league matches.
- A weak light from a single street lamp.
- A cup of weak coffee.
Associations of "Weak" (30 Words)
breakable | Things which are fragile and easily broken. Pack the breakables separately. |
brittle | A brittle sweet made from nuts and set melted sugar. Peanut brittle. |
craven | Lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful- Spenser. A craven proposal to raise the white flag. |
debilitated | Lacking strength or vigor. A debilitated patient. |
decrepit | Worn out or ruined because of age or neglect. A row of decrepit houses. |
delicate | A delicate fabric or garment. The delicate wing of a butterfly. |
drooping | Hanging down (as from exhaustion or weakness. Lilacs with drooping panicles of fragrant flowers. |
effete | Affected, over-refined, and ineffectual. The young man spoke in effete accented English. |
emaciated | Very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold. She was so emaciated she could hardly stand. |
emaciation | Extreme leanness (usually caused by starvation or disease. Thin to the point of emaciation. |
feckless | Lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible. Feckless attempts to repair the plumbing. |
feeble | Pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness. I know it s feeble but I ve never been one to stand up for myself. |
flagging | A walk of flagstones. She wants to revive her flagging career. |
fragile | (of a person) not strong or sturdy; delicate and vulnerable. A small fragile old lady. |
fragility | The quality of being easily broken or damaged. His emotional fragility. |
frail | The weight of a frail basket full of raisins or figs between 50 and 75 pounds. The balcony is frail. |
impotent | Unable to take effective action; helpless or powerless. He was on medication which had made him impotent. |
ineffective | Lacking in power or forcefulness. The legal sanctions against oil spills are virtually ineffective. |
ineffectual | Not producing an intended effect. An ineffectual campaign. |
infirm | Not physically or mentally strong, especially through age or illness. Infirm of purpose give me the daggers. |
languid | (of a period of time) relaxed and peaceful. She was pale languid and weak as if she had delivered a child. |
limp | A tendency to limp a gait impeded by injury or stiffness. He limped heavily as he moved. |
powerless | Lacking power. Troops were powerless to stop last night s shooting. |
puny | (used especially of persons) of inferior size. Puny excuses. |
rickety | Lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality. A rickety banking system. |
spineless | Weak in willpower, courage or vitality. Spineless forms of prickly pear have been selected. |
vulnerable | (of a person) in need of special care, support, or protection because of age, disability, or risk of abuse or neglect. We were in a vulnerable position. |
wan | (of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble. A wan smile. |
weakly | In a way that lacks strength or force. She leaned weakly against the wall. |
wimp | A hypothetical subatomic particle of large mass that interacts weakly with ordinary matter through gravitation; postulated as a constituent of the dark matter of the universe. Anyone who wimped out because of the weather missed the experience of a lifetime. |