feeble
Americanadjective
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physically weak, as from age or sickness; frail.
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weak intellectually or morally.
a feeble mind.
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lacking in volume, loudness, brightness, distinctness, etc..
a feeble voice; feeble light.
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lacking in force, strength, or effectiveness.
feeble resistance; feeble arguments.
adjective
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lacking in physical or mental strength; frail; weak
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inadequate; unconvincing
feeble excuses
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easily influenced or indecisive
Synonym Usage
See weak.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of feeble
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English feble, from Old French, variant of fleible (by dissimilation), from Latin flēbilis “lamentable,” equivalent to flēre “to weep” + -bilis -ble
Explanation
You know how you feel when you can’t open a jar of pickles? And then grandma walks in and does it in one shot without even grunting? That’s called feeling feeble, or lacking strength. In fact, feeble, comes from the Latin word flebilis, which means "lamentable" or "unsatisfactory." But don’t let it get to you. Your puny, inferior muscles are nothing compared to the guy who makes feeble attempts at humor. Lame-o jokes are way more lamentable than inadequate biceps.
Vocabulary lists containing feeble
List 3
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Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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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:
Exports are booming, but the rest of China’s economy is in a funk, weighed down by feeble consumption and a multiyear property slump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party made little headway improving the country's finances, with galloping inflation, crippling debt and a feeble rupee undermining economic reform.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
There’s a well-known scene from a 2001 episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants” in which a mob of fish mistakes a feeble old man for a bully and attacks him.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
The judge added that Blain's claims were "a feeble attempt to evade responsibility" from her crimes.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
I thought again, harder, and shook my head with a look of feeble apology.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
In a feebler, curious state, falsehoods can take root while truth slips through our hands, and vice versa.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
He was atop the gate again during last year’s 70th anniversary celebrations, looking much feebler as he was helped to his feet beside Xi.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2022
The storm surge along the coast was feebler than feared in many places, and the Mississippi River stayed well below the tops of the levees.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2019
Is it any wonder that Rhode Island’s economy is consequently feebler than it should be, leaving its residents with less money in their pockets and fewer opportunities to get ahead?
From Washington Times ● May 18, 2018
He could not even explain satisfactorily why he had decided against it: Every time he tried to reconstruct the internal arguments that had led to his decision, they sounded feebler to him.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
And yet, time and time again, powerful corporations have been allowed to pursue their cases, often all the way to a victory, with the feeblest claims of harm.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2025
But they weakened their endorsement after several members had questions about how well it works in the feeblest of patients, whether boosters will be needed and be effective, and the cost.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
They are all diegetic — actual numbers performed by the characters — and are thus connected to the story, as in a jukebox musical, by only the feeblest of threads.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2022
“It emits the feeblest of light and needs a vast darkness around it to attract its prey.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 30, 2021
Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us—there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
