adj
Meaning 1
Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution; weak.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
weakly
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈwiːkli/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -iːk.li
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homophone: weekly
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CMU ARPABET: W IY1 K L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adv
Meaning 2
With little strength or force.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 3
lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a feeble old woman
- her body looked sapless
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: decrepit, debile, feeble, infirm, rickety, sapless, weak
Antonyms: none provided
adverb
Meaning 4
in a weak or feeble manner or to a minor degree
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- weakly agreed to a compromise
- wheezed weakly
- he was weakly attracted to her
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: strongly
History
Etymology
From Old English wāclīċe (“weakly”), equivalent to weak + -ly (adjectival suffix); compare Old English wāclīċ (“weak; ignoble; mean”), and Old Norse veikligr (“weakly; sick”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkaz (“weakly; weak”).
From Middle English weykly, equivalent to weak + -ly (adverbial suffix). Compare Old High German weihlīcho (“weakly”), Middle English wocliche, wokli, wacliche (both from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkō).
Across languages
Translations
9 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Catalan: dèbilment — with little strength or force
- Catalan: feblement — with little strength or force
- French: faiblement — with little strength or force
- Hungarian: gyengén — with little strength or force
- Māori: māioio — with little strength or force
- Polish: słabo — with little strength or force
- Portuguese: debilmente — with little strength or force
- Russian: сла́бо (slábo) — with little strength or force
- Spanish: débilmente — with little strength or force
Real reading context