weak

/wiːk/ (bre, ipa) · /wiːk/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈwēk/ (ame, mw)

weak — 形容詞

  • weakpositive
  • weakercomparative
  • weakestsuperlative

1. having little physical power or energy, so that your body cannot make much effor

1.形容詞A2
釋義

虛弱的

身體無力或缺乏體力的

having little physical power or energy, so that your body cannot make much effort, carry heavy things, or fight illness well.

例句

After three days with the flu, Lan felt too weak to walk to the kitchen.

得了三天流感之後，Lan 虛弱到連走去廚房的力氣都沒有。

collocation: feel weak + too weak to + infinitive

After running up five flights of stairs, Mateo's legs were too weak to carry him any further.

一口氣爬了五層樓梯後，Mateo 的雙腿虛弱得再也走不動了。

collocation: body part + too weak to + infinitive

同義詞
  • feeble

    more formal, suggests a pitiable or extreme lack of strength, often from age or illness

  • frail

    suggests thinness and delicacy, commonly used for elderly people or small objects

  • fragile

    focuses on being easily broken or damaged rather than lacking muscle power

反義詞
  • strong

    the direct opposite in physical power

  • powerful

    suggests great physical force or energy

文法句型

weak + noun

too weak to + infinitive

feel/look/sound weak

用法筆記

Frequently used after verbs of bodily sensation such as feel, look, or sound. Often intensified with very or too in descriptions of illness or exhaustion.

常見錯誤

❌I felt weakness in my legs.' (when describing a temporary state after exercise)
✅I felt weak in my legs.
💡'weakness' as a noun often suggests a long-term condition or character trait; for the temporary physical state after exertion, the adjective 'weak' is more natural. However, both are grammatical.

2. not having the strength of mind to make your own decisions, say no to others, or

2.形容詞B1
釋義

軟弱的

性格不堅定，易受人影響

not having the strength of mind to make your own decisions, say no to others, or lead people firmly.

例句

The manager was too weak to tell staff when their work was not good enough.

那位主管太軟弱，不敢告訴員工他們的工作表現不夠好。

too weak to + infinitive (character sense)

Bilal felt weak for agreeing to write his friend's homework just to avoid an argument.

Bilal 覺得自己很軟弱，因為他為了避免爭吵而答應幫朋友寫作業。

同義詞
  • spineless

    more informal and insulting, suggests a complete lack of courage

  • timid

    focuses on shyness and fear rather than lack of willpower

  • submissive

    suggests willingly obeying others, not necessarily weak-willed

反義詞

文法句型

weak + noun (leader, person, character)

too weak to + infinitive

用法筆記

Common after too...to constructions. Can be used as an adjective describing either a person or their actions (a weak decision, a weak response).

常見錯誤

❌He is a weak person to say no to me.' (wrong infinitive structure)
✅He is too weak to say no to me.
💡'weak' describing character uses the 'too weak to + verb' pattern, not a direct infinitive attachment.

3. not strong or convincing enough to make people believe or accept what you are sa

3.形容詞B1
釋義

無力的

論證或藉口缺乏說服力

not strong or convincing enough to make people believe or accept what you are saying.

例句

Carlos gave a weak excuse that his manager did not believe for a second.

Carlos 找了一個很牽強的遲到藉口，他的主管一秒鐘都不相信。

attributive: weak excuse

The lawyer pointed out several weak points in the story that the witness told.

律師指出了證人說詞中的好幾個薄弱環節。

collocation: weak point / weak spot

同義詞
  • unconvincing

    direct synonym, more formal, focuses on the listener's reaction

  • flimsy

    suggests the excuse or argument is clearly insubstantial, almost transparently false

  • feeble

    stronger criticism, suggests the argument is laughably weak

反義詞
  • convincing

    persuasive and believable

  • strong

    well-supported and difficult to argue against

文法句型

weak + noun (argument, excuse, reason, evidence)

weak point / weak spot

用法筆記

Almost always used attributively (before a noun like argument, excuse, reason, or evidence) or predicatively with the subject being an argument or claim. The noun explains what is unconvincing.

常見錯誤

❌This reason is weak to believe.' (wrong structure)
✅This is a weak reason.' or 'This reason is too weak to be believable.
💡'weak' in this sense does not directly attach to an infinitive about the listener's belief.

4. (of a drink) containing much more water than the main ingredient, so the taste i

4.形容詞B1
釋義

淡的

飲料含水量多、味道不濃

(of a drink) containing much more water than the main ingredient, so the taste is not strong.

例句

Mira complained that the coffee was so weak it tasted like warm brown water.

Mira 抱怨咖啡太淡，喝起來像加了顏色的溫水。

collocation: weak coffee

The restaurant served weak tea that had almost no flavour at all.

那家餐廳提供的茶太淡，幾乎一點味道都沒有。

collocation: weak tea

同義詞
  • dilute

    more technical, suggests water has been added deliberately

  • watery

    focuses on taste being too thin, often with negative feeling

  • thin

    suggests lack of body or substance rather than just flavour

反義詞

文法句型

weak + noun (tea, coffee, beer, juice)

用法筆記

Commonly used with hot drinks (tea, coffee) and alcoholic drinks (beer). The opposite is strong. In cooking contexts, weak can also describe broth or soup.

常見錯誤

❌This tea is lightness.' (noun form error)
✅This tea is weak.
💡Use the adjective 'weak' directly; the noun 'weakness' is not used for drinks.

5. (in chemistry) releasing only a small number of charged particles (ions) when di

5.形容詞B2
釋義

弱性

化學中離子化程度低的

(in chemistry) releasing only a small number of charged particles (ions) when dissolved in water, so the chemical reaction is mild.

例句

Vinegar contains a weak acid that is safe to use in salad dressing.

醋含有一種弱酸，用來做沙拉醬很安全。

collocation: weak acid

In the lab, the students tested how weak acids react with different metals.

在實驗室裡，學生們測試了弱酸與不同金屬的反應。

反義詞
  • strong

    (of acid/base) fully ionising in solution

文法句型

weak + noun (acid, base, alkali, solution)

用法筆記

A technical term in chemistry. The opposite is strong (strong acid, strong base). The degree of ionisation, not the concentration, determines whether an acid or base is weak.

常見錯誤

❌This acid has a weak concentration.' (confusing weak with dilute)
✅This is a weak acid.
💡'Weak' in chemistry refers to partial ionisation, not low concentration. A weak acid can be highly concentrated.

6. not performing or working as well as people normally expect in a particular area

6.形容詞B1
釋義

薄弱的

能力或品質未達標準

not performing or working as well as people normally expect in a particular area.

例句

Maths has always been Iris's weakest subject at school.

數學一直是 Iris 在學校裡最薄弱的科目。

superlative: weakest subject

The team's defense was weak, so the other side scored three goals easily.

該球隊的防守很弱，對手輕鬆就進了三分。

同義詞
  • poor

    more direct and general, can describe quality without implying comparison

  • inadequate

    more formal, suggests failure to meet a required standard

  • unsatisfactory

    focuses on not meeting expectations rather than lack of skill

反義詞
  • strong

    showing good ability or high quality

  • skilled

    having developed ability through practice

文法句型

weak + noun (subject, performance, area, link)

weakest + noun

weak in/at + noun phrase

用法筆記

Can describe a person, a team, or an area of work. When describing a person, prefer 'weak in/at [area]' rather than just 'weak' to avoid confusion with the character sense (sense 2).

常見錯誤

❌I am weak of Maths.' (wrong preposition)
✅I am weak in Maths.' or 'Maths is my weakest subject.
💡Use 'in' or 'at' after 'weak' to specify the area, or restructure with a possessive.

7. describes a chin that is small and slopes backward toward the neck instead of pr

7.形容詞B2
釋義

內縮的

形容下巴短小、向後縮的

describes a chin that is small and slopes backward toward the neck instead of projecting forward from the face.

例句

Eve's weak chin made her face look rounder than she wanted.

Eve 的內縮下巴讓她的臉看起來比她希望的更圓。

The dentist explained that a weak chin can affect how the upper and lower teeth meet.

牙醫解釋說，內縮下巴可能會影響上下排牙齒的咬合。

collocation: weak chin + dental/medical context

同義詞
  • receding

    more specific to the angle of the chin; less common in everyday speech

反義詞
  • prominent

    describes a chin that sticks out clearly

  • strong

    the direct opposite in facial descriptions

8. lacking the ability to think clearly, understand ideas, or learn new things quic

8.形容詞B2
釋義

理解力差的

形容理解或思考能力不足的

lacking the ability to think clearly, understand ideas, or learn new things quickly.

例句

The student's weak grasp of basic math made the advanced class very difficult.

那位學生對基礎數學的理解力很差，導致進階課程學起來非常吃力。

collocation: weak grasp of [subject]

Aarav's weak understanding of the safety rules nearly caused an accident in the lab.

Aarav 對安全規則的理解不足，差點在實驗室裡造成意外。

同義詞
  • poor

    less specific; can describe performance or quality in any area

  • feeble

    stronger negative tone; suggests a pathetic or pitiful lack of ability

反義詞
  • sharp

    implies quick understanding and cleverness

  • strong

    the general opposite across many contexts

用法筆記

Applied directly to a person ('He is weak') can sound insulting; it is often better to describe their reasoning, grasp, or performance instead.

常見錯誤

❌My brother is weak in that subject.' (when meaning 'lacks ability')
✅My brother has a weak grasp of that subject.
💡describing the grasp rather than the person softens the judgment.

9. not strong or intense enough to be easily seen, heard, felt, smelled, or noticed

9.形容詞B2
釋義

微弱的

形容光線、聲音等微弱不易察覺的

not strong or intense enough to be easily seen, heard, felt, smelled, or noticed by the senses.

例句

A weak light came through the curtains just before sunrise.

微弱的光線在日出前從窗簾縫中透進來。

collocation: weak light

Nellie heard a weak knock at the door but did not get up to answer it.

Nellie 聽到門外傳來微弱的敲門聲，但沒有起身去應門。

同義詞
  • faint

    nearly interchangeable; slightly more common for sounds and smells

  • dim

    used specifically for light or vision

  • soft

    used mainly for sound; can also mean gentle rather than barely present

反義詞
  • strong

    general opposite for all sensory uses

  • bright

    specific opposite for light

  • loud

    specific opposite for sound

用法筆記

Often used with sensory nouns: weak light, weak sound, weak smell, weak signal. The opposite is strong or bright (for light) or loud (for sound).

常見錯誤

❌The coffee was weak.' (if meaning not hot or not strong in flavour)
✅The coffee was weak.
💡this usage (sense 4, diluted drink) is a different sense of weak, not 'difficult to detect.' Do not use for flavour intensity.

10. in linguistics, describing a verb whose past-tense and past-participle forms are

10.形容詞C1
釋義

規則變化的

指動詞以規則詞尾變化的

in linguistics, describing a verb whose past-tense and past-participle forms are built with a suffix such as -ed, -d, or -t placed at the end, rather than through a change in the vowel.

例句

The verb 'walk' is a weak verb because its past form 'walked' takes the regular -ed ending.

動詞 walk 是規則變化動詞，因為它的過去式 walked 加了規則字尾 -ed。

pattern: weak verb marked by -ed/-d/-t ending

Most new English verbs enter the language as weak verbs because the regular pattern is easier to follow.

大多數新進入英語的動詞都屬於規則變化，因為這種變化模式比較容易遵循。

同義詞
  • regular

    the everyday term used in school grammar

反義詞
  • strong

    describes verbs that change an internal vowel to form the past tense (e.g., sing → sang)

  • irregular

    more general term for verbs that do not follow the -ed pattern

用法筆記

This is a technical term in linguistics. In English-language classrooms, weak verbs are more commonly called 'regular verbs.'

常見錯誤

❌The verb 'go' is weak because it is common.
✅The verb 'go' is a strong verb because its past tense 'went' changes the vowel.
💡weakness or strength in grammar refers to the inflection pattern, not how common the word is.

11. describes a word or syllable that is not stressed when spoken naturally, so that

11.形容詞C1
釋義

輕聲的

指音節或字詞不重讀、母音弱化的

describes a word or syllable that is not stressed when spoken naturally, so that its vowel sound becomes shorter or less clear.

例句

In the phrase 'fish and chips,' the word 'and' takes its weak form and sounds like /n/.

在 fish and chips 這個片語中，and 一詞以輕聲形式出現，發音類似 /n/。

pattern: weak form of function words in connected speech

The weak form of the word 'to' sounds like /tə/ before a consonant.

to 的輕聲形式在子音前聽起來像 /tə/。

同義詞
  • unstressed

    broader term; applies to any syllable that receives no stress, whether or not the vowel is reduced

  • reduced

    focuses on the shortening or weakening of the vowel sound itself

反義詞
  • strong

    the full, stressed pronunciation of a word

  • stressed

    receiving emphasis in speech

用法筆記

This term belongs to phonetics and phonology. Weak forms are most common for function words such as prepositions, auxiliary verbs, and conjunctions.

12. describes an economy, market, or currency that is not performing well, with fall

12.形容詞B2
釋義

疲軟的

形容市場、經濟不景氣的

describes an economy, market, or currency that is not performing well, with falling prices, low demand, or reduced value.

例句

A weak economy usually means fewer jobs are available for new graduates.

經濟疲軟通常意味著應屆畢業生的工作機會減少。

collocation: weak economy

Investors worried about the weak dollar and moved their savings into gold.

投資人擔心美元疲軟，紛紛將存款轉為黃金。

用法筆記

Common in financial news. Often paired with nouns like economy, market, demand, currency, dollar, and sector. The opposite in financial contexts is strong.