flimsiness
flimsiness — noun
1. the poor quality of something that is made of very thin or weak material, so tha
the poor quality of something that is made of very thin or weak material, so that it breaks or tears easily
The flimsiness of the cardboard box meant it collapsed under the weight of the books.
flimsiness of [object] — describing poor physical quality
Naoko complained about the flimsiness of the tent after the first storm tore it open.
Customers returned the chairs because of the flimsiness of the plastic legs.
Asher could see the flimsiness of the fence — a strong wind would knock it over.
The flimsiness of the silk dress worried Alessia — it would tear during the dance.
- sturdiness
implies strong and firm construction
- robustness
suggests being strong and unlikely to fail
2. the lack of solid evidence or good reasoning in an argument, excuse, or explanat
the lack of solid evidence or good reasoning in an argument, excuse, or explanation, making it hard to accept as true
The flimsiness of Omar's excuse made it obvious that he had not finished the work.
flimsiness of [excuse/argument/reason] — describing weak reasoning
Yael pointed out the flimsiness of the report, which lacked data to support its claims.
The lawyer highlighted the flimsiness of the witness's story during cross-examination.
Rohan could not believe the flimsiness of the plan, which contained no backup strategy.
The flimsiness of the evidence meant the case never went to trial.
- weakness
more general — can refer to any flaw in reasoning
- implausibility
stronger — suggests something is hard to believe mainly because it seems unlikely
- insubstantiality
more formal — suggests an argument lacks solid foundation
用法筆記
Commonly used with nouns describing arguments, explanations, evidence, excuses, and reasoning. Not used for physical objects — for those, use sense 1.