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WEAK - Definiția din dicționar

Traducere: română


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Weak (w&ē;k), a. [Compar. Weaker (w&ē;k"&etilde_;r); superl. Weakest.] [OE. weik, Icel. veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible, pliant, AS. w&ā;c weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G. weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel. v&ī;kja to turn, veer, recede, AS. w&ī;can to yield, give way, G. weichen, OHG. w&ī;hhan, akin to Skr. vij, and probably to E. week, L. vicis a change, turn, Gr. e'i`kein to yield, give way. √132. Cf. Week, Wink, v. i. Vicissitude.]
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1. Wanting physical strength. Specifically: --
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(a) Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm; sickly; debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted.
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A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man. Shak.
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Weak with hunger, mad with love. Dryden.
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(b) Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain; as, a weak timber; a weak rope.
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(c) Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or separated into pieces; not compact; as, a weak ship.
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(d) Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as, the weak stalk of a plant.
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(e) Not able to resist external force or onset; easily subdued or overcome; as, a weak barrier; as, a weak fortress.
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(f) Lacking force of utterance or sound; not sonorous; low; small; feeble; faint.
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A voice not soft, weak, piping, and womanish. Ascham.
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(g) Not thoroughly or abundantly impregnated with the usual or required ingredients, or with stimulating and nourishing substances; of less than the usual strength; as, weak tea, broth, or liquor; a weak decoction or solution; a weak dose of medicine.
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(h) Lacking ability for an appropriate function or office; as, weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak magistrate; a weak regiment, or army.
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2. Not possessing or manifesting intellectual, logical, moral, or political strength, vigor, etc. Specifically: -
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(a) Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking vigor; spiritless; as, a weak king or magistrate.
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To think every thing disputable is a proof of a weak mind and captious temper. Beattie.
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Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there were two Gods. Waterland.
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(b) Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
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If evil thence ensue,
She first his weak indulgence will accuse.
Milton.
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(c) Not having full confidence or conviction; not decided or confirmed; vacillating; wavering.
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Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. Rom. xiv. 1.
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(d) Not able to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable; as, weak resolutions; weak virtue.
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Guard thy heart
On this weak side, where most our nature fails.
Addison.
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(e) Wanting in power to influence or bind; as, weak ties; a weak sense of honor of duty.
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(f) Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained; as, a weak argument or case.Convinced of his weak arguing.” Milton.
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A case so weak . . . hath much persisted in. Hooker.
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(g) Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as, a weak sentence; a weak style.
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(h) Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble.Weak prayers.” Shak.
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(i) Lacking in elements of political strength; not wielding or having authority or energy; deficient in the resources that are essential to a ruler or nation; as, a weak monarch; a weak government or state.
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I must make fair weather yet awhile,
Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong.
Shak.
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(k) (Stock Exchange) Tending towards lower prices; as, a weak market.
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3. (Gram.) (a) Pertaining to, or designating, a verb which forms its preterit (imperfect) and past participle by adding to the present the suffix -ed, -d, or the variant form -t; as in the verbs abash, abashed; abate, abated; deny, denied; feel, felt. See Strong, 19 (a). (b) Pertaining to, or designating, a noun in Anglo-Saxon, etc., the stem of which ends in -n. See Strong, 19 (b).
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4. (Stock Exchange) Tending toward a lower price or lower prices; as, wheat is weak; a weak market.
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5. (Card Playing) Lacking in good cards; deficient as to number or strength; as, a hand weak in trumps.
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6. (Photog.) Lacking contrast; as, a weak negative.
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&hand_; Weak is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, weak-eyed, weak-handed, weak-hearted, weak-minded, weak-spirited, and the like.
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Weak conjugation (Gram.), the conjugation of weak verbs; -- called also new conjugation, or regular conjugation, and distinguished from the old conjugation, or irregular conjugation. -- Weak declension (Anglo-Saxon Gram.), the declension of weak nouns; also, one of the declensions of adjectives. -- Weak side, the side or aspect of a person's character or disposition by which he is most easily affected or influenced; weakness; infirmity. -- weak sore or weak ulcer (Med.), a sore covered with pale, flabby, sluggish granulations.
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Weak (?), v. t. & i. [Cf. AS. w&unr_;can. w&ā;cian. See Weak, a.] To make or become weak; to weaken. [R.]
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Never to seek weaking variety. Marston.
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