Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One of weak constitution or character.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A feeble creature.
- Feeble; weak.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A weak or feeble creature.
- adjective Weak; feeble.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
weak , either physically, morally or mentally - noun A
person ofweak or even sickly physicalconstitution - noun figuratively A
person ofweak character , lacking in courage and/or moral strength.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who is physically weak and ineffectual
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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To call a weakling strong, a fool wise, a short man tall, a black man white, a sinner holy,—is, believe me, not praise but contumely.
The Early Middle Ages 500-1000 Robert Brentano 1964
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He had never been called a weakling before -- he had never thought to be called a weakling, but the strangeness of that was less strange than something in her eyes, her voice, her spirit, which seemed drawing him on.
The Glory of the Conquered The Story of a Great Love Susan Glaspell 1915
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He had never been called a weakling before -- he had never thought to be called a weakling, but the strangeness of that was less strange than something in her eyes, her voice, her spirit, which seemed drawing him on.
The Glory of the Conquered The Story of a Great Love Susan Glaspell 1915
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He had never been called a weakling before -- he had never thought to be called a weakling, but the strangeness of that was less strange than something in her eyes, her voice, her spirit, which seemed drawing him on.
The Glory of the Conquered The Story of a Great Love Susan Glaspell 1915
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Though I am not, and never have been, save in the parole starvation time, what one would call a weakling, my first trip to town with eighty-five pounds of ore on my back nearly killed me.
Branded Francis Lynde 1893
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Sr W. -- Most gracious maisty, 'twas I that did it, but indeed it was so poor and frail a note, compared with such as I am wont to furnish, yt in sooth I was ashamed to call the weakling mine in so august a presence.
1601 Mark Twain 1872
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What kind of weakling needs government approval to do the right thing?
More Torture Thoughts Steven Barnes 2009
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Augustus: You state that Obama is a 'weakling' because he did not tell "... muslims to respect other religions" on his first trip to a muslim land.
On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2009
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I've hammered on the Southeast Division quite a bit in recent years, but those teams' play this season has brought new meaning to definition of 'weakling'.
Archive 2008-01-01 James Mirtle 2008
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It had returned him to his former 'weakling' self, for a time.
Before Destruction Rossi, Michael 1991
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