(a) lacking strength or power; easily broken, bent or defeated 弱的; 无气力的; 无势力的; 易毁坏的; 易弯的; 容易被击败的: She was still weak after her illness. 她病後仍很虚弱. * too weak to walk far 身体很虚弱不能走远道 * Her legs felt weak/She felt weak in the legs. 她感到双腿无力. * The supports were too weak for the weight of the load. 所载的分量很重已经禁不住了. * a weak barrier, defence, team 不结实的挡板﹑ 无力的防御﹑ 弱队 * a weak chin/mouth, ie suggesting or showing weakness of character 软弱的性格 * identify the weak points in an argument, ie those which may be attacked most easily 找出论据中的弱点. (b) (commerce 商) not financially sound or successful 疲软的; 萧条的: a weak currency, economy, market 疲软的货币﹑ 经济﹑ 市场. 
not functioning properly; deficient 功能不佳的; 疲弱的: weak eyes/sight 视力弱的眼睛[不佳的视力] * a weak heart 衰弱的心脏 * a weak stomach, ie one that is easily upset by food 易引起恶心的胃. 
not convincing or forceful 无说服力的; 无力的: weak arguments, evidence 无说服力的论据﹑ 证据. 
not easily perceived; feeble or faint 不易察觉的; 微弱的: a weak light, signal, sound 微弱的光线﹑ 信号﹑ 声音 * a weak smile 微微的一笑. 
(of liquids) containing a high proportion of water; dilute （指液体）稀的, 稀释的: weak tea 淡茶 * a weak solution of salt and water 稀释的盐水溶液. 
~ (at/in/on sth) not achieving a high standard; deficient 未达高标准的; 有缺欠的: Her school report shows that she is weak at/in arithmetic and biology. 从她的学习成绩单可看出她算术和生物成绩差. * The book is weak on (ie in its treatment of) the medieval period. 这本书对中世纪时期论述不足. 
(grammar) (of verbs) forming the past tense, etc by the addition of a suffix (eg walk, walked or waste, wasted) and not by a change of vowel (eg run, ran or come, came) （指动词）弱的, 规则的（构成过去时态需添加词尾的, 如walk﹑ walked或waste﹑ wasted, 并非改变元音的, 如run﹑ ran或come﹑ came）. 
(idm 习语) ,weak at the `knees (infml 口) temporarily hardly able to stand because of emotion, fear, illness, etc 一时两腿发软站立不住（因激动﹑ 惧怕﹑ 疾病等所致）: The shock made me go all weak at the knees. 这件事把我吓得两腿发软. the weaker `sex (dated sexist 旧, 性别偏见) women in general 女性. ,weak in the `head (infml 口) stupid 愚蠢的: You must be weak in the head if you believe that. 你相信那件事可就太傻了. a weak `moment time when one is unusually easily persuaded or tempted 易被说服或诱惑的时刻: In a weak moment, I agreed to pay for her holiday. 我一时心软同意了支付她度假的费用.> the `weak n [pl v] people who are poor, sick or powerless and are therefore easily exploited, infected, etc 弱者, 穷人, 病人, 无权势的人（因而易受剥削﹑ 欺压﹑ 影响的）: He argued that it was the role of governments to protect the weak. 他的论点是政府有责任保护无告的百姓. * the struggle of the weak against their oppressors 被压迫者与压迫者之间的斗争.
weaken / 5wi:kEn; `wikEn/ v
1 [I, Tn] (cause sb/sth to) become weak or weaker （使某人[某事物]）变弱: They watched her gradually weaken as the disease progressed. 他们观察到她随着病情变化身体也渐渐衰弱下去. * The dollar has weakened in international currency trading. 美元在国际货币交易中已趋疲软. * Hunger and disease had weakened his constitution. 他饥饿与疾病交加, 体质已削弱.
2 [I] become less determined or certain about sth; waver （对某事物的决心或肯定程度）减弱, 动摇, 犹豫: They have not yet agreed to our requests but they are clearly weakening. 他们还没有同意我们的要求, 但态度已明显软化.
weakling / 5wi:klIN; `wiklIN/ n (derog 贬) weak or feeble person or animal 软弱的人或动物: Don't be such a weakling! 别那麽软弱!
weakly adv in a weak manner 软弱地; 无力地; 疲软地; 疲弱地; 微弱地: smile weakly 微微一笑.
weakness n 1 [U] state of being weak 弱; 软弱; 虚弱; 薄弱: the weakness of a country's defences 国家防御力量的薄弱 * weakness of character 性格之懦弱 * New evidence revealed the weakness of the prosecution's case. 这一新的证据表明原告理由不充足. 2 [C] defect or fault, esp in a person's character 弱点, 缺点（尤指性格的）: We all have our weaknesses. 我们大家都有不足之处. 3 [C usu sing 通常作单数] ~ for sth/sb special or foolish liking for sth/sb （对某事物[某人]的）特殊的或痴心的爱好: have a weakness for peanut butter, fast cars, tall women 偏爱花生酱﹑ 跑车﹑ 高个儿女子.
# `weak form (phonetics 语音) way of pronouncing certain common words in an unstressed position, with a shorter syllable and a different vowel sound, or by omitting a vowel sound or a consonant (eg / En; En/ or/n; n/ for and, as in bread and butter / 9bred n 5bQtE(r);`brZd n `bQtL/) 弱读式（英语某些常用词在非重读位置上的读法, 为缩短音节﹑ 替换元音或省略元音或辅音, 如在bread and butter词组中的and读作/En/或/n/, 即/,bred n `bQtE(r)/）.
,weak-`kneed adj (fig 比喻) (of a person) lacking determination or courage （指人）无决心的, 无勇气的.
,weak-`minded adj (a) lacking determination or resolution无决心的; 不果断的. (b) mentally deficient 心智不健全的. weak-mindedly adv. weak-mindedness n [U].