Weakness — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a flaw or weak point

powerlessness revealed by an inability to act

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/wˈiːknəs/

🇬🇧British English

/wˈiːknəs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/wˈiːknəs/

2 syllables Say it as /wˈiːknəs/.

Examples

he was quick to point out his wife's failings
in spite of their weakness the group remains active
his weakness increased as he became older

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

impuissance helplessness failing

Antonyms

strength

Parts of Speech

noun	a flaw or weak point “he was quick to point out his wife's failings”
noun	powerlessness revealed by an inability to act “in spite of their weakness the group remains active”
noun	the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain “his weakness increased as he became older”
noun	the condition of being financially weak “the weakness of the dollar against the yen”
noun	a penchant for something even though it might not be good for you “he has a weakness for chocolate”

Word Forms

fail	verb	fall short in what is expected
weak	adjective	likely to fail under stress or pressure
helpless	adjective	lacking in or deprived of strength or power
impuissant	adjective	lacking physical strength or vigor

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Schwäche

ein Fehler oder eine Schwachstelle

🇫🇷French

faiblesse

un défaut ou un point faible

🇪🇸Spanish

debilidad

un defecto o punto débil

🇮🇹Italian

debolezza

un difetto o un punto debole

🇳🇱Dutch

zwakte

een fout of zwak punt

🇵🇹Portuguese

fraqueza

uma falha ou ponto fraco

🇷🇺Russian

слабость

недостаток или слабое место

India

🇮🇳Hindi

कमजोरी

एक दोष या कमज़ोर बिंदु

🇧🇩Bengali

দুর্বলতা

একটি ত্রুটি বা দুর্বল পয়েন্ট

🇮🇳Tamil

பலவீனம்

ஒரு குறைபாடு அல்லது பலவீனமான புள்ளி

🇮🇳Telugu

బలహీనత

ఒక లోపం లేదా బలహీనమైన స్థానం

🇮🇳Marathi

अशक्तपणा

एक दोष किंवा कमकुवत बिंदू

🇮🇳Gujarati

નબળાઈ

એક ખામી અથવા નબળા બિંદુ

🇮🇳Kannada

ದೌರ್ಬಲ್ಯ

ನ್ಯೂನತೆ ಅಥವಾ ದುರ್ಬಲ ಬಿಂದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

ബലഹീനത

ഒരു പോരായ്മ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ദുർബലമായ പോയിൻ്റ്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਕਮਜ਼ੋਰੀ

ਇੱਕ ਨੁਕਸ ਜਾਂ ਕਮਜ਼ੋਰ ਬਿੰਦੂ

🇵🇰Urdu

کمزوری

ایک خامی یا کمزور نقطہ

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

弱点

缺陷或弱点

🇯🇵Japanese

弱さ

欠陥または弱点

🇰🇷Korean

약점

결점이나 약점

🇻🇳Vietnamese

điểm yếu

một lỗ hổng hoặc điểm yếu

🇹🇭Thai

ความอ่อนแอ

จุดบกพร่องหรือจุดอ่อน

🇮🇩Indonesian

kelemahan

sebuah cacat atau titik lemah

🇵🇭Filipino

kahinaan

isang kapintasan o mahinang punto

🇲🇾Malay

kelemahan

kelemahan atau titik lemah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

ضعف

عيب أو نقطة ضعف

🇮🇷Persian

ضعف

یک نقص یا نقطه ضعف

🇹🇷Turkish

zayıflık

bir kusur veya zayıf nokta

🇮🇱Hebrew

חוּלשָׁה

פגם או נקודת תורפה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'weakness'?

The primary meaning of 'weakness' is 'a flaw or weak point'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'weakness' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'weakness' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'weakness' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'weakness' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'weakness' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'weakness' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'weakness' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'weakness' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'weakness' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'weakness' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted