Synonyms of weakening

weakening 1 of 3

noun

as in deterioration

a gradual sinking and wasting away of mind or body

the all-too-apparent weakening of our grandfather was hard on our mother

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deterioration
• decay
• decline
• decaying
• degeneration
• debilitation
• exhaustion
• enfeeblement
• ebbing
• declension
• atrophy
• descent
• flagging
• drooping
• regression
• setback
• relapse
• limping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improvement
• recovery
• rehabilitation
• strengthening
• revitalization
• recuperation
• rally
• comeback
• progress
• snapback
• invigoration
• rejuvenation
• rejuvenescence

weakening

2 of 3

adjective

as in draining

Related Words

• draining
• debilitating
• deadening
• sapping
• injurious
• deleterious
• pernicious
• enfeebling
• exhausting
• enervating
• numbing
• wearying
• unhealthful
• unhealthy
• unwholesome
• noxious
• insalubrious

Dissimilar Words

• vital
• stimulating
• reviving
• bracing
• refreshing
• tonic
• cordial
• restorative
• stimulative
• rejuvenating
• vitalizing
• strengthening
• invigorating
• conditioning
• life-giving

weakening

3 of 3

verb

present participle of weaken

1

as in softening

to diminish the physical strength of

weeks of hardship in the desert had greatly weakened them

Synonyms & Similar Words

• softening
• wasting
• sapping
• damaging
• tiring
• hurting
• injuring
• debilitating
• exhausting
• enfeebling
• paralyzing
• crippling
• enervating
• impairing
• depleting
• devitalizing
• disabling
• harming
• prostrating
• depressing
• etiolating
• incapacitating
• impoverishing
• hamstringing
• grinding (down)
• invaliding
• laying up
• wearing out
• washing out
• unmanning
• wearing down
• breaking down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthening
• fortifying
• recruiting
• energizing
• invigorating
• hardening
• beefing (up)
• rejuvenating
• vitalizing
• seasoning
• toughening

2

as in fading

to lose bodily strength or vigor

the bodybuilder weakened once she eased off on her workouts

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fading
• sagging
• failing
• going
• sinking
• deteriorating
• decaying
• drooping
• lagging
• flagging
• withering
• wilting
• languishing
• wasting (away)
• emaciating
• rotting
• degenerating
• yielding
• wearing out
• breaking down
• running down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recovering
• rallying
• gaining
• recuperating
• rebounding
• convalescing

3

as in diluting

to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances

weakened the juice with too much water

Synonyms & Similar Words

• diluting
• thinning
• cutting
• infecting
• loading
• poisoning
• polluting
• manipulating
• extending
• spoiling
• adulterating
• dirtying
• degrading
• tainting
• contaminating
• sophisticating
• corrupting
• lacing
• watering down
• soiling
• debasing
• cheapening
• misrepresenting
• tempering
• defiling
• fouling
• counterfeiting
• attenuating
• sullying
• falsifying
• spiking
• moderating
• tampering (with)
• befouling
• qualifying
• faking
• envenoming
• doctoring
• fudging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthening
• reinforcing
• enriching
• fortifying
• augmenting
• fertilizing
• supplementing
• improving
• purifying
• cleaning
• enhancing
• richening
• clarifying
• refining
• filtering
• cleansing
• purging
• flushing
• leaching
• larding
• distilling
• bettering
• pasteurizing
• concentrating
• decontaminating
• condensing
• compacting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of weakening

Noun

The hurricane center said the storm's intensity could fluctuate over the next few days but would likely maintain hurricane strength through Thursday, with gradual weakening forecast thereafter. — CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026

The networks learn to recognize patterns by strengthening and weakening connections between nodes in response to training data. — Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026

Under the previous administration, Brazil’s audiovisual industry suffered from the closure of the Ministry of Culture, the suspension of the Audiovisual Sector Fund, the weakening of cultural institutions, and allegations of censorship. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026

More rain is expected in the region as a weakening Isaias moves north. — Charles Minshew, AJC.com, 10 Oct. 2026

Sedentary middle-aged men and women lose about 10 percent of their strength and mass each decade, weakening knees, too. — Aaron Steckelberg, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026

By Wednesday next week, the moisture plume from the weakening storm will arrive in Arizona and New Mexico with the potential for flash floods and lingering tropical showers throughout the desert. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 23 Sep. 2026

The first sign that El Niño is developing is a weakening, or even reversal, of the tropical Pacific trade winds. — Steven Paton, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to around 65 mph with higher gusts, and gradual weakening is forecast during the next few days, according to the hurricane center. — Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026

Verb

OpenAI disclosed a pair of safety incidents that involved AI agents weakening their safety monitoring systems during internal coding tasks. — Emma Roth, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026

Meanwhile, weakening brand loyalty threatens an advantage established manufacturers have relied on for decades. — Matthew Tan, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026

Sunday, the upper-level ridge will begin weakening and gradually shifting eastward, allowing additional cloud cover to spread into parts of North Texas. — Michael Autovino, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026

Now, the organization overseeing medical residency programs — the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) — has proposed weakening the rules that gave me some respite. — Arifeen Rahman, STAT, 20 Oct. 2026

Higher participation would increase Arab representation and could push marginal right-wing parties below the electoral threshold, weakening Netanyahu’s prospects of forming a government. — Tamir Sorek, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026

Data released Tuesday shows the housing market weakening sharply, squeezed by rising mortgage rates and elevated home prices. — ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026

Such restraint is not evidence that the axis is weakening but rather a defining feature of how these partnerships work. — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026

Wind speeds were expected in the 50 to 70 mph range through early afternoon Friday before gradually weakening. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026