weaken
Americanverb (used with object)
-
weakens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
weakened,
past participle, past
-
weakening
present participle
-
- Synonyms:
- invalidate, minimize, impair, reduce, lower, diminish, lessen, deplete, exhaust, sap, undermine, enervate, debilitate, enfeeble
- Antonyms:
- strengthen
-
Phonetics. to change (a speech sound) to an articulation requiring less effort, as from geminate to nongeminate or from stop to fricative.
verb (used without object)
-
weakens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
weakened,
past participle, past
-
weakening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
weakensimple
-
weakenssimple
-
have weakenedperfect
-
has weakenedperfect
-
am weakeningprogressive
-
are weakeningprogressive
-
is weakeningprogressive
-
have been weakeningperfect progressive
-
has been weakeningperfect progressive
Past
-
weakenedsimple
-
had weakenedperfect
-
was weakeningprogressive
-
were weakeningprogressive
-
had been weakeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of weaken
Explanation
To weaken is to become less powerful or strong. When a storm weakens, the wind dies down and the torrential rain becomes a light drizzle. If you weaken physically, your strength diminishes: "I did great at the start of the obstacle course, but my arms began to weaken toward the end and I couldn't climb that last wall." You can also weaken in resolve or spirit, like when your sister's criticism of your art project weakens your confidence about including it in an exhibition. This verb comes from weak and its Germanic root meaning "yield" or "soft."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Hurricane Odalys, with 90 mph winds, is nearly 900 miles west of the southern tip of Baja California and is forecasted to turn away from land and weaken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
If the circulation continues to weaken, the effects could include changes in European winters, shifts in rainfall patterns, altered hurricane activity, and changes in coastal sea levels.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
A tightening cycle in the U.S. may curtail Brazil’s monetary easing, as a narrowing margin between the fed funds and the Selic rates could weaken the Brazilian real, making imports more expensive and fueling inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Demand could weaken across accelerators, memory, networking and data-center equipment.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Clinton thought that freeing the patriots’ slaves would weaken their armies and the American will to fight.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones and increases the risk of fractures, affects millions of people and remains a major challenge for doctors seeking safe treatments that can be used over long periods.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
The country’s fast-declining currency is putting pressure on consumers to use it before it weakens further.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
And the same heat that drives the demand also weakens the supply: gas turbines lose output as the air warms, and in June several UK plants had to be turned down.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
If those customers eventually slow capital expenditures because financing costs rise or free cash flow weakens, semiconductor demand could eventually feel the effects.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
As we get closer, the illusion weakens, but only because the glass has gotten dirty.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
“Breadth has actually weakened as the index has moved toward an all-time high,” said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise, in a phone interview Monday.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Residents living near to a fire-damaged seaside hotel in Folkestone have been evacuated over safety fears that the intensity of the basement blaze weakened the building's structure, the council has said.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Some trees succumbed to insects after being weakened by drought.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s call to raise rates, but the yen still weakened, potentially creating a new concern for Bessent, who helped lead the first coordinated support for the yen since 1998 earlier this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
It gave me an idea of what a terrible strain Lucy’s system must have undergone that what weakened Arthur only partially restored her.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
“That’s not the stuff of a weakening tape,” Stockton said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026
The researchers were looking for a mix that could absorb more CO2 without weakening the concrete.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
The strategists say they’d hedge against any weakening via put options on the “QQQ”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
“Investor optimism continues to support elevated valuations despite rising geopolitical tensions and a weakening economic outlook. The wider this gap becomes, the greater the risk of an abrupt market correction.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Radiation penetrated the men’s bodies, damaging cells and weakening their immune systems.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
