infirmity

[ in-fur-mi-tee ]

/ ɪnˈfɜr mɪ ti /

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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

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 formssu·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

Word Origin and History for infirmity

infirmity

late 14c., "disease, sickness; lack of capability, weakness," from Latin infirmitatem (nominative infirmitas) "want of strength, weakness, feebleness," noun of quality from infirmus (see infirm). Cf. Middle French infirmité, Old French enfermete.

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.