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weakness

weak·ness

UK/ˈwiːk.nɪs/ US/ˈwiːk.nəs/ common

noun

1.

a flaw or weak point

  • “he was quick to point out his wife”
Synonyms
2.

powerlessness revealed by an inability to act

  • “in spite of their weakness the group remains highly active”
Synonyms
3.

the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain

  • “his weakness increased as he became older”
  • “the weakness of the span was overlooked until it collapsed”
Antonyms
4.

the condition of being financially weak

  • “the weakness of the dollar against the yen”
Antonyms
5.

a penchant for something even though it might not be good for you

  • “he has a weakness for chocolate”

Origin

From Middle English wayknesse, weykenesse, replacing earlier Middle English wocnesse, wakenes, wacnesse (“weakness”), from Old English wācnes (“weakness”). Equivalent to weak + -ness.

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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.