weakness
noun
Simple meaning
A lack of strength, power or ability, or a fault in something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
weeknuhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwiknəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The condition of being financially weak
“The weakness of the dollar against the yen.”
countable
A special fondness or obsessing desire.
countable
An inadequate quality; fault.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- General and technical use
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The condition of being financially weak
Used this way, weakness is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The weakness of the dollar against the yen.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “weakness of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: weakness of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use weakness
- “The weakness of the dollar against the yen.”noun
- “In spite of their weakness the group remains active.”noun
- “His weakness increased as he became older.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
In a weak or feeble manner or to a minor degree.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.