1Lacking the power to perform physically demanding tasks; lacking physical strength and energy.

她患了流感，身体正在恢复，但十分虚弱。

1. 1.1 Lacking political or social power or influence.
   缺乏政治（或社会）影响力的，软弱的
   the central government had grown too weak to impose order

   中央政府已变得十分软弱，无法令行禁止。

   the new king used his powers to protect the weak

   新国王利用他的权力来保护弱者。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Or is it that they were raised by a strong father figure and a weak female influence?
   • The old order was too weak for either reforms or brute oppression.
   • A knight was supposed to protect the weak and defend the Church against heretics of all shades.
   • To its great shame, the United States has a pathetically weak labor law which makes it easy for employers to harass and punish workers who try to organize unions.
   • Yet he continually attempted to coax the board of directors into selecting weak artistic directors in order that he might influence the programming and selection of new singers.
   • One of those lessons is how weak Britain's influence has been over the American administration.
   • The conviction that the strong are bound to prey on the weak, as dictated by the law of the jungle, is incompatible with the principle of competition.
   • British management, being its usual weak pathetic self, tried to please everyone all the time and lost the plot.
   • In each case the ruling elites were chosen from weak minority groups in order to make their power dependent on the colonial power.
   • But they agree its new parliament, for the moment, will be too weak to meet expectations.
   • The government has been very weak in terms of clarifying the case.
   • Education levels, at least higher education levels, have a mixed and somewhat weak influence on rural income growth rates.
   • Such new leadership would have been weak and easily outmaneuvered by Musharraf, of course.
   • Sometimes they left the sick and weak behind in order to make it through.
   • The deliberate assault on the weak is not the spirit of Socialism but of Fascism.
   • The question here is a philosophical one: why is it necessary to have some men be brave enough to fight and honorable enough to fight to protect the weak, in order to have a society exist?
2. 1.2 (of a crew, team, or army) containing too few members or members of insufficient quality.
   （组，队，军队）人员不足的；人员素质差的
   Example sentencesExamples

   • There are no weak teams left these days, and you need something extra to give you the edge - maybe a coach like Michael can do that.
   • And the truth is that there are no longer any weak teams at this level.
   • So while neither player is an outstanding leader, they get credit for being major factors in leading a weak team into the upper division.
   • No longer burdened with the captaincy of a weak team, he is letting his bat do the talking as he has a new lease on life.
   • Having a weak team represent the league would be like sending a donkey to race against thoroughbreds.
   • Although they had recently beaten the home side convincingly in the cup the opposition on that day had fielded a weak team.
   • In both 1999 and 2001, Brazil sent a weak team to the competition and was embarrassed.
   • This may raise a few eyebrows, but it is not the fault of an individual to be a member of a weak team.
   • The team is weak along the offensive line, so their return is critical.
   • But the overall verdict, delivered in the first police performance monitors published as part of a drive to tackle weak forces, is upbeat.
   • The team is so weak at cornerback that forcing the action in the opponent's backfield is the only way it can succeed.
   • I know there are no weak teams and all the games will be hard but I genuinely believe we are the best team.
   • Playing for a weak team did not diminish what Ramsey accomplished.
   • That is, a good player drafted to a weak team is likely to be sold to a strong team where more revenue can be generated.
   • They were a weak force, held together by little more than hatred.
   • His team simply cannot appear weak in comparison.
   • Their defense was weak, their special teams mediocre, their running game average.
   • As long as Pataudi was captain, he led with authority and distinction, marshalling a weak team against strong oppositions.
   • A weak and ineffective Police force, to sum up, is a certain threat to the maintenance of law and order in this country, and the criminals know it.
   • I don't believe that Cork and the other teams were weak, but that Fermanagh were never given full credit for what they achieved.
   • This was a team that was weak when we finished last year.
3. 1.3 (of a faculty or part of the body) not able to fulfill its functions properly.
   （设施，身体器官）功能差的
   he had a weak stomach

   他的胃不太好。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Your legs feel so weak that you think they won't be able to support you.
   • The elderly lady was left with pains to her ribs and back, as well as high blood pressure and a weak heart.
   • Smokers have a weak sense of smell, because cigarettes destroy the inner lining of the nose.
   • The arms may feel weak, the patient no longer being able to lift heavy objects.
   • You may have a weak immune system.
   • We rely on our muscles to walk, lift objects and climb stairs. However, in space muscles become weaker when there is no gravity to overcome.
   • He has been left with slurred speech, and the left side of his body is weak after his brain was damaged.

   Synonyms

   inadequate, poor, feeble
4. 1.4 Of a low standard; performing or performed badly.
   标准低的；表现差的
   the choruses on this recording are weak

   这张唱片的合唱水平不高。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Despite some weak translation in the English subtitles, this is a powerful and elegant film.
   • But he's is a defensive liability, and the team already has enough weak defenders.
   • Our waitress's command of English was weak, almost non-existent in fact, and our food arrived at strange intervals.
   • Although too weak for NBA standards, he is certainly not a liability on the defensive end.
   • You know, when you're in a police force or in a firefighting unit, who the weak guys on your team are.
   • They have what we can call ‘communicative competence’ even though their grammatical competence in Gaelic is weak.
   • That said, the coach admits that the team does have weak areas that need to be addressed, such as someone who consistently puts the puck in the net.
   • What with David Seaman looking a hugely dominating presence at the back, this is looking like a team without a weak link.
   • Her English was weak, which was an incentive for me to work on my French.
   • He was definitely weak in language skills in elementary school, as several tests show.
   • Gordon Brown's Treasury must explain why eight UK government departments have recently been criticised by auditors for weak financial control.
   • It has long been clear that the myth of auditor independence has been a weak link in the financial reporting chain.
   • A pessimistic view would be that it is a question for weak students to do badly, average students to avoid, and for good students to prove.
   • The Italian was rejected because of his weak grasp of English.

   Synonyms

   inadequate, poor, feeble
5. 1.5 Not convincing or logically forceful.
   无说服力的；逻辑不周密的
   the argument is an extremely weak one

   这个论点毫无说服力。

   a weak plot

   逻辑松散的情节。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It's a weak supposition - unworthy of the sharp-witted Miss Bennet.
   • To no one's surprise, the plot is predictably weak, but who really cares if it's all just inconsequential fluff when the action's this much fun?
   • While the plot is pretty weak, it doesn't hurt the game too much.
   • I liked the idea of the movie, with the whole ‘matrix’ thing, but in some parts I found the plot weak and predictable.
   • For decades, such films were low-grade romances with weak plots interfused with 20-odd musical outbursts.
   • Almost as bad is that it's artistically and logically weak.
   • The plot is weak and the film can't decide whether it's a road movie, a quest or a love story.
   • The film moves along quickly enough but just as it gets going we are let down by a weak plot finish, the usual clichés, and a big feeling of disappointment.
   • Although it has a superficial sheen, the film is mired in structural errors, weak plot contrivances and flimsy characterisation.
   • At the end, I was left wondering why they bothered to make the film, because the plot seemed weak to me.
   • And jurors are never accused of acting like vigilantes when they convict a defendant, no matter how weak the evidence.
   • If on the other hand, at least a majority of the judges consider the evidence too weak for a conviction, they must acquit.
   • As well as affecting the way we judge other people, moods also influence our susceptibility to weak arguments.
   • Its problems run a lot deeper than a weak, unoriginal plot or lame actors, however.
   • I have tried to be fair, but where it seems to me that an argument is particularly strong or weak my convictions shine through.
   • A weak story, tepid characters, a confusion of plots and, to top it all, some terrible editing make this one of the worst reads of the month.
   • Only two weak aspects of the book could be identified.
   • It has been premiered to mixed reviews, including criticism of a weak plot, and this is not really surprising.
   • A slow-moving film with a weak plot, it trudges its way to a disappointing finish and leaves you wondering why you bothered.
   • For example, my years of teaching education policy have convinced me that the research basis for many popular reforms is weak at best.
   • But it does rest on two weak assumptions steeped in a simplistic view of race.

   Synonyms

   unconvincing, untenable, tenuous, implausible, unsatisfactory, slight, poor, inadequate, thin, transparent
6. 1.6 Exerting only a small force.
   微弱的
   a weak magnetic field

   弱磁场。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • But even after nearly 90 years the theory remains notoriously hard to test because gravity is such a weak force.
   • In fact, scientists could and did show that gravity was too weak a force to account for the movement of continents.
   • These interactions are held together principally by weak van der Waals forces.
   • Because of its low mass, its gravity is very weak.
   • In many ways, the force of gravity is extremely weak.

2Liable to break or give way under pressure; easily damaged.

蝾螈的尾巴很容易在根部的脆弱部位断掉。

1. 2.1 Lacking the force of character to hold to one's own decisions, beliefs, or principles; irresolute.
   犹豫不决的
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Therefore she absolutely worshipped her son although she had been greatly disappointed in his weak character.
   • Their coach comes across as weak, making decisions to cater for the fading hero rather than the good of the team.
   • Zeph was definitely not the wimpy, useless, weak coward that he had originally seemed and she found herself almost inexplicably drawn to him.
   • Obese people often are shunned by society and blamed for having weak characters.
   • Also, a lot of people misread Diane as a weak character; she's not.
   • It basically makes him look like a weak, indecisive, craven leader.
   • I have a morbid fear of being seen as weak, pathetic or girly.
   • In the beginning of the story Bilbo is a very weak character.
   • Many people in the world, including me, are so weak and fragile that they easily fall into temptation and make mistakes.
   • Refs aren't such weak characters that they would allow their impartiality to be compromised on this basis.
   • Most likely he expected me to be weak and unsure in carrying them out.
   • She hated herself for being so weak in front of her parents.
   • Chelmsford, a man of weak character and mediocre talents, marched into Zululand only to suffer one of the most humiliating defeats in British military history at Isandlwana.
   • He is a bit weak for a main character; rather superficial and bland.
   • The only serious problem with the story is that, without spoiling anything, it makes one of the major characters look extremely weak.
   • I suppose I'm weak when it comes to confrontation like that.
   • He claimed that the Prime Minister was too weak to make a decision on his own.
   • They are weak beings, easily controlled and manipulated.
   • I have a great cast; often Mark is portrayed as a small weak character, whereas I think he has an enormous ego.
   • Her character is weak and Steinbeck characterized her as an archetypical child, both capricious and malleable.
   • In the myth-making of the Middle East, it allowed the West to be portrayed as weak and irresolute.
   • My father believed that our Tsar was weak and made wrong decisions.

   Synonyms

   irresolute, spineless, craven, cowardly, pusillanimous, timorous, timid, indecisive, ineffectual, useless, inept, effete, meek, tame, powerless, ineffective, impotent, namby-pamby, soft, lily-livered, faint-hearted
2. 2.2 (of a belief, emotion, or attitude) not held or felt with such conviction or intensity as to prevent its being abandoned or dispelled.
   （信仰，情感，态度）不坚定的
   their commitment to the project is weak

   他们对这个项目的承诺不够坚定。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He is a man of strong convictions and weak commitments.
   • I wanted to retreat, so scared was I that he might touch me and break my weak resistance.
   • So the question is which of the political groups will later benefit from the population's weak attitude.
   • While large numbers of Americans professed religious belief, the depth of their conviction appeared weak.
3. 2.3 Not in a secure financial position.
   财务状况不稳健的
   people have no faith in weak banks

   人们对财务状况不好的银行没有信心。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Instead, there was a persistent attack on the weak financial structures of all of the countries involved in the respective bailouts.
   • The country's economic position was extremely weak during that period.
   • The panel has stated that the financial projections made by the three weak banks for the next five years are too rosy.
   • At the time, the company had virtually run out of cash and had no leverage to borrow more from its banks because of its weak financial condition and heavy debt.
   • He also acknowledged that the insurer is in a weak financial position, and that policyholders' returns would be less robust than with competitor companies.
   • According to them, the bank's position was too weak to intervene because of its thin foreign exchange reserves.
   • All recent financial crises in emerging markets have shown that weak banks and financial institutions worsen a currency crisis.
   • But WTO entry will throw open a wide range of markets, bringing a wave of competition for ailing state firms and weak financial institutions.
4. 2.4 (of prices or a market) having a downward tendency.
   （价格，市场）疲软的
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The industry is still suffering from excess network capacity put in place during the boom years of the late 1990s, and prices are weak.
   • Even excluding that shift, the labor market is weak, and chances of a drastic improvement anytime soon appear slim.
   • The markets still believe the view that the US wants the dollar to stay weak in order to boost its economic recovery prospects.
   • But, Nationwide added, the market is usually weak in the late summer/early autumn period - a factor that contributed to the fall.
   • It's unlikely, say observers, especially during a weak market.
   • The investment bank has put its flotation plans on hold because of the weak market and business conditions.
   • Lagged realisation prices and weak markets are likely to have affected its coal and industrial minerals businesses, but that won't outshine the good news.
   • The company has been hit by weak markets, a change in accounting practices and the cancellation of a contract.
   • ‘Sterling has been weak and you would expect that to continue,’ he said.
   • Madden conceded that launching a crime title in the present weak market was ‘sailing into uncharted waters’, but said he was optimistic.
   • A weak dollar might turn off foreign investors and reduce critically needed overseas capital.
   • When the economy is weak, the homeless population expands.
   • Along with other car makers, they've been hit by a weak market in Europe for new cars, depressing prices and profitability.
   • The index was dragged lower by weak financial and industrial stocks.
   • Sales in the cosmetics business were down 27 per cent compared to the same period last year, reflecting a weak market.
   • Last week, we talked about why the dollar has been so weak against the euro.
   • But the big debate now in financial circles is about the weak dollar, whether it's good or bad, versus what a strong dollar should do to us, or for us.

3Lacking intensity or brightness.

惟一一盏街灯发出的微弱光线。

1. 3.1 (of a liquid or solution) heavily diluted.
   a cup of weak coffee

   一杯淡咖啡。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I don't consider myself a caffeine addict, but I do drink diet Coke every evening and probably a weak coffee every day or two on average.
   • So this is my penance, she thinks, grimacing after taking another sip of the weak liquid.
   • For a mile I strolled along the river, the water the colour of weak tea, the short grass firm underfoot.
   • Most of the spirits found for the lower classes were weak concoctions of fermented herbs and cheap grains, and tasted much like boiled mud.
   • All he got was a cup of weak coffee and a stale bourbon.
   • To remove heavy tarnish, difficult stains and corrosion: wash in hot, soapy water or a weak ammonia and water solution and rinse.
   • At this point you may want to water the plant with a weak solution of balanced plant food.
   • A few seconds later, Tony came into the room with two plastic cups with brown liquid that tasted mildly of coffee, but was way too weak to be called coffee.
   • He takes a sip from the mug in front of him, which contains weak coffee.
   • From very strong coffee, to very weak with lots of milk it is enjoyed in many kitchens.
   • I'll have to forgo my coffee and get it from the office, which probably isn't a god idea since I hear that Harris makes weak coffee.
   • Drink was either weak tea or water drunk from old petrol tins.
   • As Americans, we are used to drinking pots of weak coffee, diluted with milk and sugar.
   • As you know, Ann prefers her coffee very weak, so a single cafetière and a jug of hot water were sufficient for us both.
   • Mold can be cleaned off surfaces with a weak bleach solution.
   • However, I suspect one cup of weak coffee each day is likely to have only a marginal effect.
   • Rinse off then give a final wipe over with a weak solution of vinegar and water to produce a sparkling surface free of streaks.
   • However, grocery store vinegar is normally a 5% solution and is too weak to do the job.
   • Once this is done, the resulting weak alcoholic liquid is distilled into tequila.
   • She drank the weak coffee she'd bought from the vending machine and watched the clock.

   Synonyms

   watery, diluted, dilute, watered down, thinned down, thin, adulterated, tasteless, flavourless, bland, insipid, mild
2. 3.2 (of an acid) only slightly ionized.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Another important use of the equilibrium constant concept is with weak acids.
   • In reaction 2, dissolved carbon dioxide combines with water to form carbonic acid (a weak acid).
   • The paleontologist and her colleagues removed mineral fragments from the interior of the femur by soaking it in a weak acid.
   • These compounds get oxidized in the paper to form lactic, acetic, formic, and other weak acids.
   • Reactive release agents contain weak acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats.
   • The most common buffers are mixtures of weak acids and their conjugate bases.
3. 3.3 Displaying or characterized by a lack of enthusiasm or energy.
   缺乏热情（或活力）的
   she managed a weak, nervous smile

   她的微笑勉强又紧张。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He tried to cast a weak, faint smile at me, and confusedly, shyly, I lowered my eyes.
   • Roberts, looking for a second against his former club, stepped forward to take the spot kick but his weak shot was easily saved.
   • Amber couldn't help the faint blush, or the weak smile, as she nodded.
   • I looked at him when he mouthed his insult to me, and all I could muster to give back was a weak smile that was aiming to be snide.
   • The lady was evidently flattered by his offer and accepted in a weak and nervous voice as he kissed her hand.
   • He looked at me warily and I gave him a weak smile.
   • She gave a weak smile and ran a hand through her hair nervously.
   • Sandra shifted her feet nervously and displayed a weak, but timid, smile.
   • However Saito's weak shot was easily cleared by Rachel Imison and the Hockeyroos held on to lead by a solitary goal at the break.
   • I have to say that my experiences with people that have weak handshakes have been far from good ones.
   • Mr. Erickson-Moore stood behind me and wrenched the leaf-pole from my weak grip, breaking it in half over his knee as though it were a mere twig.
   • Then there were reminiscences over the good times the couple had together, which Jacob meets with a weak, embarrassed smile.
   • When asked what he might do now, he gave a weak smile and said: ‘I might take a holiday.’
   • It was a half-hearted plea, accompanied by a weak smile.
   • At that point, however, his nerve deserts him and his weak shot is easily saved.
   • Andy Roddie went closest to scoring for Peterhead just before the interval, but his weak free-kick was easily held by Colin Stewart.
   • Kevin stood, brushing his hair out of his eyes with a weak, nervous smile.
   • He looked at her and smiled a weak grin.
   • variety: too many examples of smile'
   • His voice wasn't weak, but it lacked its trademark strength and energy.
   • With considerable effort Emily turned around and sent Michael a weak smile that was just shy of halfhearted.
   • They still tapped their wrists together, though with such weak enthusiasm that they barely even felt it.
   • I am incredibly appreciative, but manage to only muster a weak smile.

   Synonyms

   unenthusiastic, feeble, half-hearted, limp, lame
4. 3.4 (of features) not striking or strongly marked.
   （容貌）不突出的，不引人注目的
   his beard covered a weak chin

   他的胡须下面是十分平常的下巴。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • This figure's weak chin, hunched shoulders and humble demeanor contribute to the poignancy and humanity of the busts.
   • In keeping with the association with babyish faces, weak chins are less common in movie villains than in more ‘innocent’ characters.
   • He looked like a natural for comedy with his weak chin, receding hairline and a nose that looked as if someone had recently slammed a car door on it.
   • He was slight, with floppy hair and a weak chin hidden by a small beard.
   • He had high cheekbones and did not have a weak chin.
   • The higher angle of the camera hides my weak chin.
   • His mother was irritated by his weak chin and hang-dog appearance.
   • A boy, no more than nineteen, with sideburns and a weak chin, muttered something in the ear of the man next to him, who sniggered.
   • An augmentation rhinoplasty is performed to build up the nose in the case of a flattened bridge or a weak nose tip.
5. 3.5 (of a syllable) unstressed.
   （音节）轻读的，非重读的
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Stressed syllables retain full vowel quality, whereas unstressed syllables may have weak vowels.
   • In many limericks extra weak syllables may be squeezed in almost anywhere, but we still recognise a familiar underlying metrical pattern.
   • He pioneered a style of French text-setting in which the accentuation of weak syllables made for unusual forcefulness and clarity.
   • The schema would consist of an initial strong syllable followed by an unspecified number (including zero) of weak syllables.

4Grammar
Denoting a class of verbs in Germanic languages that form the past tense and past participle by addition of a suffix (in English, typically -ed).

5Physics
Relating to or denoting the weakest of the known kinds of force between particles, which acts only at distances less than about 10⁻¹⁵ cm, is very much weaker than the electromagnetic and the strong interactions, and conserves neither strangeness, parity, nor isospin.