infirmity

[ in-fur-mi-tee ]

/ ɪnˈfɜr mɪ ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR infirmity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural in·fir·mi·ties for 1, 3.

a physical weakness or ailment: the infirmities of age.

quality or state of being infirm; lack of strength.

a moral weakness or failing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

infinitum, infinity, infirm, infirmarian, infirmary, infirmity, infirmly, infix, infixion, infl., inflame

Origin of infirmity

1325–75; Middle English infirmite < Latin infirmitās. See infirm, -ity

SYNONYMS FOR infirmity

3 flaw, defect, fault.

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Related forms

su·per·in·fir·mi·ty, noun, plural su·per·in·fir·mi·ties.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for infirmity

Alma Hitchcock, the times I saw her, was a frail, birdlike woman who looked angry about her infirmity.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mr. G. has an hereditary (I believe) infirmity of the mind, and is confined by his father in an asylum.
A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital|John Beauchamp Jones
Still, with the erring pride of youth she reproached herself with her infirmity of purpose.
Charlemont|W. Gilmore Simms
Mr. Madison's want of health prevented; and Mr. Jefferson declined on account of age and infirmity.
Memoirs of General Lafayette|Lafayette

His deafness took an unusual form; he heard fish frying in his head, and he was not reticent upon the subject of his infirmity.
The Bibliotaph|Leon H. Vincent
On the verge of the dreaded boundaries of infirmity her selfish energies gave way.
Mariposilla|Mary Stewart Daggett

British Dictionary definitions for infirmity

infirmity

/ (ɪnˈfɜːmɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the state or quality of being infirm

physical weakness or debility; frailty

a moral flaw or failing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for infirmity

infirmity

[ ĭn-fûr′mĭ-tē ]

n.

A bodily ailment or weakness, especially one brought on by old age.

A condition or disease producing weakness.

A failing or defect in a person's character.