Link Centre Dictionary

feebly

UK/ˈfiːbli/ US/ˈfibli/ uncommon

adverb

1.

in a faint and feeble manner

  • “the lighthouse, flashing feebly against the sleet-blurred, rocky backdrop of the coast of north west Norway”
2.

in a halting and feeble manner

  • “reform, in fact, is, rather feebly, on the win”

Origin

From Middle English febly; equivalent to feeble + -ly, euphonically blending -le and -ly. Compare nimbly, nobly, and Latinate -ably and -ibly.

Related words

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.