weak

• adj. [经] 疲软的；虚弱的；无力的；不牢固的

来自PIE*weik,弯，转，词源同week,wench.引申义柔软的，没有力量的，瘦弱的。

1. having little physical or spiritual strength;

"a weak radio signal"

"a weak link"

2. overly diluted; thin and insipid;

"washy coffee"

"watery milk"

"weak tea"

3. lacking power

4. used of vowels or syllables; pronounced with little or no stress;

"a syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable"

"a weak stress on the second syllable"

5. having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings;

"I'm only human"

"frail humanity"

6. lacking force; feeble;

"a forceless argument"

7. lacking physical strength or vitality;

"a feeble old woman"

"her body looked sapless"

8. used of verbs having standard (or regular) inflection

9. lacking physical strength or vigor

10. characterized by excessive softness or self-indulgence;

"an effeminate civilization"

weak

weak: [13] Etymologically, something that is weak is ‘bendable’. The word was borrowed from Old Norse veikr. This was descended from prehistoric Germanic *waikwaz, which also produced German weich and Dutch week ‘soft’. And this in turn was formed from *waikw-, *wikw- ‘give way, yield’, a derivative of the base *wik- ‘bend’, which also produced the witch of English witch hazel [16] (etymologically the hazel with ‘bendy’ branches) and possibly English week.

weak (adj.)

c. 1300, from Old Norse veikr "weak," cognate with Old English wac "weak, pliant, soft," from Proto-Germanic *waikwa- "yield" (cognates: Old Saxon wek, Swedish vek, Middle Dutch weec, Dutch week "weak, soft, tender," Old High German weih "yielding, soft," German weich "soft"), from PIE root *weik- (4) "to bend, wind" (see vicarious).

Sense of "lacking authority" is first recorded early 15c.; that of "lacking moral strength" late 14c. In grammar, denoting a verb inflected by regular syllabic addition rather than by change of the radical vowel, from 1833. Related: Weakly. Weak-kneed "wanting in resolve" is from 1870.

weak, feeble, frail, fragile

这些形容词均有"虚弱的，乏力的"之意。

weak： 普通用词，指缺乏应有的力量，可用于身体、意志或精神。

feeble： 指身体衰弱无力，精力几乎耗尽，含令人怜悯的意味。

frail： 多指因经常生病而身体纤弱。

fragile可与frail换用，但语气强，侧重脆弱，指人容易生病，指物容易破碎。

Great leaders recognize the weak signals or slight signs that point to big changes to come.

出自-2017年6月阅读原文

They were born psychologically weak.

出自-2013年6月听力原文

And given the weak job opportunities facing young adults, living at home was part of the private safety net helping young adults to weather the economic storm.

2019年6月四级真题（第二套）阅读 Section B

I want to make sure that older adults are still able to enjoy their old age, and that they're not spending time in hospital with infections, feeling unwell and being generally weak.

2019年6月四级真题（第一套）听力 Section C

How does one figure out who is a weak teacher? Yes, that's a challenge.

出自-2016年6月阅读原文

But, instead, the Chicago union seems to be using its political capital primarily to protect weak performers.

出自-2016年6月阅读原文

Nor is the global economy forgiving of an American workforce with increasingly weak literacy, math and science abilities.

出自-2015年12月阅读原文

The most recent comparative data on the performance of universities and research institutions in Australia, Canada, USA and UK shows that, from a relatively weak starting position, the UK now leads on many indicators of commercialisation activity.

出自-2011年12月阅读原文

Most young boys have been trained to believe that men who show tender feelings are considered to be feminine and weak.

出自-2010年12月阅读原文

How does one figure out who is a weak teacher?

2016年6月六级真题（第一套）阅读 Section C

The dot.com bust discredited most predictions of that sort and in the years that followed, conventional retailers’ confidence in the future increased as Census continued to report weak online sales.

2019年6月六级真题（第一套）阅读 Section B

But humans enjoyed all of these advantages for a full 2 million years during which they remained weak and marginal creature.

2019年高考英语江苏卷 阅读理解 任务型阅读 原文

Food webs may be dominated by many weak links because that arrangement is more stable over the long term.

2019年高考英语天津卷 阅读理解 阅读C 原文

It was a small school with a weak football program.

2018年高考英语天津卷 完形填空 原文

Italy, which has a much weaker tradition of immigration, has witnessed a sharp increase in immigration in recent years.

2017年高考英语浙江卷（6月） 阅读理解 阅读C 原文

Most food webs, for instance, consist of many weak links rather than a few strong ones.

2019年高考英语天津卷 阅读理解 阅读C 原文

Secondly, their muscles grew smaller and weaker.

2019年高考英语江苏卷 阅读理解 任务型阅读 原文

The differences between weak and strong links in food webs.

2019年高考英语天津卷 阅读理解 阅读C 选项

The weak links may thus keep species from driving one another to extinction.

2019年高考英语天津卷 阅读理解 阅读C 原文

He argued that human evolution was characterized by a struggle he called the “survival of the fittest,” in which weaker races and societies must eventually be replaced by stronger, more advanced races and societies.

出自-2009年考研阅读原文

Time was when biologists somewhat overworked the evidence that these creatures preserve the health of game by killing the physically weak, or that they prey only on "worthless"species.

出自-2010年考研翻译原文

Most journals are weak in statistical review, and this damages the quality of what they publish.

出自-2015年考研阅读原文

She is still weak after her illness.

她病后仍然虚弱。

牛津词典

His legs felt weak.

他觉得两腿发软。

牛津词典

She suffered from a weak heart.

她心脏不好。

牛津词典

That bridge is too weak for heavy traffic.

那座桥不太牢固，承受不住过多的车辆。

牛津词典

a weak and cowardly man

一个懦弱胆怯的男子

牛津词典

In a weak moment (= when I was easily persuaded) I said she could borrow the car.

我一时心软，同意她借用汽车。

牛津词典

I was too weak to move or think or speak...

我太虚弱了，无法动弹，无法思考，也无法说话。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

His arms and legs were weak.

他的四肢虚弱无力。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Until the beating, Cantanco's eyesight had been weak, but adequate...

挨打前坎坦科的视力就一直很弱，不过也还勉强看得见。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

She tired easily and had a weak heart.

她很容易疲劳，心脏也不好。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He was a nice doctor, but a weak man who wasn't going to stick his neck out...

他是位为人和蔼的医生，但胆小怕事，不敢冒什么风险。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

You have been conditioned to believe that it is weak to be scared.

你已经习惯性地认为害怕就是软弱。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

His weak voice was almost inaudible...

他的声音微弱，几乎听不见。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He managed a weak smile.

他勉强挤出一丝笑容。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The owner said the bird may have escaped through a weak spot in the aviary...

鸟的主人说这只鸟可能是从鸟舍一处不结实的地方逃走的。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Swimming is helpful for bones that are porous and weak.

游泳有助于改善骨质疏松和骨骼脆弱。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The molecules in regular liquids are held together by relatively weak bonds...

常规液体里分子之间的键合力相对较弱。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Strong winds can turn boats when the tide is weak.

潮水小的时候强风可以让船只改变航向。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The council was too weak to do anything about it.

市政会手中无权，对此无能为力。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The changes come after mounting criticism that the government is weak and indecisive...

随着对政府软弱和优柔寡断的批评愈演愈烈，情况终于有了变化。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The chief editorial writer also blames weak leadership for the current crisis.

首席社论员也把当前的危机归咎于领导层软弱无力。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The weak dollar means American goods are relative bargains for foreigners...

美元疲软意味着美国的产品对外国人来说相对便宜。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

When the economy is weak, it's very hard for suppliers to raise their prices.

经济疲软时供货商很难提价。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Do you think the prosecution made any particular errors, or did they just have a weak case?...

你认为公诉人犯了什么错误呢，还是根本就是证据不足？

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The claim exposed a weak point in the structure of facts upon which his argument rested...

这一主张暴露了支撑他论点的论据结构的一个弱点。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

...a cup of weak tea...

一杯淡茶

柯林斯高阶英语词典

...a very weak bleach solution.

高度稀释的漂白剂

柯林斯高阶英语词典

You may very well be asked what your weak points are. Don't try to claim you don't have any...

你很可能会被问到有什么缺点。不要试图声称自己没有任何缺点。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Geography was my weak subject...

地理是我的弱项。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

She was a plain-looking woman with a weak chin.

她相貌平平，性格懦弱。

柯林斯高阶英语词典