weakly

[ week-lee ]

adjective

, weak·li·er, weak·li·est.

1. weak or feeble in constitution; not robust; sickly.

adverb

1. in a weak manner.

weakly

/ ˈwiːklɪ /

adjective

1. sickly; feeble

adverb

1. in a weak or feeble manner

Derived Forms

• ˈweakliness, noun

Other Words From

• weakli·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of weakly¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, weakly is from the Middle English word weekely. See weak, -ly

Synonym Study

See weak.

Example Sentences

As part of this wave-nature, axions should weakly interact with light and when surrounded by a magnetic field.

From Popular-Science

It took two days before I finally swam, breaststroking weakly for three minutes near a lineup of surfers wearing warm, comfortable wetsuits.

From Outside Online

While the halo neutrons are weakly bound to the nucleus, they are indeed bound.

From Science News

The weakly emergent laws which we obtain by the standard method are only, for all practical purposes, irreversible but remain, in principle, reversible.

From Nautilus

They interact with one another only weakly and can swivel into roughly 60 different orientations.

From Quanta Magazine

At which Bezos turned to the packed audience, smiled weakly, and said: “This is Henry being nice to me!”

From The Daily Beast

“At best it might be described as weakly ergogenic, or performance enhancing,” Sallis says.

From The Daily Beast

We smile weakly, not wanting to let them down or prolong the conversation.

From The Daily Beast

The three leaders only weakly reaffirmed their commitment to searching for a negotiated solution.

From The Daily Beast

Sebelius, who was spending her day trying to sell and defend the error-prone program, laughed weakly.

From The Daily Beast

The old man, grizzled, tanned and seamed, leant weakly against the parapet.

From Project Gutenberg

Only waved her hands weakly and looked at the clergyman, whose cap was much more over his ear than before.

From Project Gutenberg

Wewe go to school together, explained Jess, weakly, and found herself drawn into the arms of the lady.

From Project Gutenberg

If her strength had allowed she would have run, but now it threatened to desert her altogether and she tottered weakly.

From Project Gutenberg

That is one of the melodramatic bits, said Bobby, weakly, leaning against the wall for support.

From Project Gutenberg