weak

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English weike, from Old Norse veikr (“weak”), cognate with Old English wīcan (“to yield”). Proto-Indo-European base *weik- (“to bend, wind”). Replaced the native Old English wāc. Compare German weich, Dutch week.

Pronunciation

• enPR: wēk, IPA: /wiːk/, X-SAMPA: /wi:k/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːk
• Homophone: week

Adjective

weak (comparative weaker, superlative weakest)

1. Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.

   The child was too weak to move the boulder.

   They easily guessed his weak computer password.

2. Dilute, lacking in taste or potency.

   We were served stale bread and weak tea.

3. (grammar) Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:
   1. (Germanic languages, of verbs) Regular in inflection, lacking vowel changes and having a past tense with -d- or -t-.
   2. (Germanic languages, of nouns) Showing less distinct grammatical endings.
   3. (Germanic languages, of adjectives) Definite in meaning, often used with a definite article or similar word.
4. (physics) One of the four fundamental forces associated with nuclear decay.
5. (slang) Bad or uncool.

   This place is weak.

6. (mathematics, logic) Having a narrow range of logical consequences; narrowly applicable. (Often contrasted with a strong statement which implies it.)

Synonyms

• (lacking in force or ability): feeble, frail, powerless
• (lacking in taste or potency): dilute, watery

Antonyms

• (lacking in force or ability): healthy, powerful, robust, strong
• (lacking in taste or potency): potent, robust, strong

Derived terms

• weaken
• weakling
• weakness
• weak sister

Translations

lacking in force or ability

• Arabic: ضعيف (ar) (ḍaʿīf)
• Armenian: թույլ (hy) (t'uyl) , տկար (hy) (tkar) 
• Asturian: débil (ast)
• Azeri: zəif (az)
• Belarusian: слабы (be) (sláby) 
• Bulgarian: слаб (bg) (slab) 
• Catalan: feble (ca), dèbil (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 弱 (cmn) (ruò)

• Czech: slabý (cs) m
• Dutch: zwak (nl), slap (nl)
• Faroese: veikur (fo)
• Finnish: heikko (fi)
• French: faible (fr)
• Galician: débil (gl), feble (gl), fraco (gl), frouxo (gl)
• Georgian: სუსტი (ka) (susti) , უძლური (ka) (ujluri) , უღონო (ka) (uḡono) 
• German: schwach (de)
• Greek: αδύναμος (el) (adýnamos) m 
• Hebrew: חלש (he) (khalásh)
• Hindi: दुर्बल (hi) (durbal), निर्बल (hi) (nirbal), कमज़ोर (hi) (kamzor), अशक्त (hi) (aśakt)
• Hungarian: gyenge (hu), gyönge (hu)
• Ido: febla (io), debila (io)
• Indonesian: lemah (id)
• Irish: lag (ga)
• Italian: debole (it)
• Japanese: 弱い (ja) (よわい, yowai)
• Jèrriais: faibl'ye m and f
• Khmer: ខ្សោយ (km) (ksaoy)
• Korean: 약한 (ko) (yakhan)
• Latgalian: sluobs
• Latin: infirmus (la)
• Latvian: vārgs (lv), vājš (lv)

• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: слаб (mk) (slab)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: слабъ (slabŭ)

  Glagolitic: ⰔⰎⰀⰁⰟ (slabŭ)

• Persian: ضعیف (fa) (za'if)
• Polish: słaby (pl) m
• Portuguese: fraco (pt), débil (pt), frouxo (pt)
• Romanian: slab (ro), debil (ro), lânced (ro)
• Russian: слабый (ru) (slábyj) 
• Sanskrit: निर्बल (sa) (nirbala), दुर्बल (sa) (durbala), अशक्त (sa) (aśakta)
• Santali: ᱚᱵᱳᱞ (abol)
• Scottish Gaelic: lag (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: слаб (sh)

  Roman: slab (sh)

• Slovak: slabý (sk)
• Slovene: šíbek (sl), slàb (sl)
• Spanish: débil (es), feble (es), flaco (es), flojo (es)
• Swedish: svag (sv)
• Thai: อ่อนแอ (th) (òn ae)
• Tok Pisin: hanggre (tpi)
• Turkish: zayıf (tr)
• Ukrainian: слабкий (uk) (slabkýj) , слабий (uk) (slábyj) 
• Urdu: دربل (ur) (durbal), کمزور (ur) (kamzor), اشکت (ur) (aśakt)
• Uyghur: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: yếu (vi)
• Welsh: gwan (cy)
• Yiddish: please add this translation if you can

dilute, lacking in taste or potency

• Arabic: ضعيف (ar) (ḍaʿīf)
• Armenian: թույլ (hy) (t'uyl) 
• Czech: slabý (cs) m
• Dutch: flauw (nl)
• Finnish: laimea (fi), mieto (fi)
• German: schwach (de)
• Hungarian: gyenge (hu), híg (hu)

• Irish: lag (ga)
• Japanese: 薄い (ja) (うすい, usui)
• Russian: слабый (ru) (slábyj) 
• Scottish Gaelic: lag (gd)
• Swedish: svag (sv)
• Welsh: gwan (cy)

grammar: regular in inflection

• Dutch: zwak (nl)
• Finnish: säännöllinen (fi)
• German: schwach (de)
• Hungarian: gyenge (hu)

• Japanese: 弱変化の (ja) (じゃくへんかの, jakuhenka no)
• Latin: legitimus (la)
• Russian: слабый (ru) (slábyj) , правильный (ru) (právilʹnyj) 
• Swedish: svag (sv)

physics: one of the four fundamental forces associated with nuclear decay

• Armenian: թույլ (hy) (t'uyl) 
• Czech: slabý (cs) m
• Finnish: heikko (fi)
• Ido: debila (io)

• Japanese: 弱い (ja) (よわい, yowai)
• Russian: слабый (ru) (slábyj) 
• Swedish: svag (sv)

slang: bad or uncool

• Finnish: huono (fi)
• German: (colloquial) out (de), unschön (de), häßlich (de), uninteressant (de)

• Hungarian: gyenge (hu)
• Japanese: ださい (ja) (dasai)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ضعيف (ɖaʕí:f)
• Bulgarian: слаб (slab)
• Mandarin: 微弱 (wēiruò)
• Esperanto: malforta
• French: faible m and f
• Greek: αδύνατος (aðínatos)
• Hebrew: חלש (khalásh) m, חלשה (khalásha) f
• Indonesian: lemah

• Italian: debole m and f
• Korean: 약한 (yakhan)
• Kurdish: بێ قووه‌ت, بێ هێز, لاواز
• Portuguese: fraco
• Spanish: débil
• Swedish: svag
• Turkish: zayıf, kırılgan, güçsüz

Anagrams

• wake

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West Frisian

Adjective

weak

1. soft