feeble

adjective fee·ble \ ˈfē-bəl \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

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Examples: feeble in a Sentence

Definition of feeble

feebler play \ˈfē-b(ə-)lər\; feeblest play \ˈfē-b(ə-)ləst\

1 a : markedly lacking in strength

a feeble old man

b : indicating weakness

taking only feeble steps

2 a : deficient in qualities or resources that indicate vigor, authority, force, or efficiency

a feeble argument

cities are growing uncreative and feeble
—Jane Jacobs

b : inadequate, inferior

a feeble excuse

—

feebleness

play \ˈfē-bəl-nəs\ noun

—

feebly

play \ˈfē-blē\ adverb

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Examples of feeble in a Sentence

She's still feeble from her long illness.
We heard a feeble cry for help.
Business is suffering because of the feeble economy.
He made a feeble attempt to explain his behavior.
He offered a feeble excuse for his behavior.
“Dislike” is too feeble a word for how she feels about him.

Recent Examples of feeble from the Web

Cerezo needlessly gave away a corner which the Brazilian defence subsequently failed to clear, leaving Rossi (who else?) to get on the end of Tardelli’s feeble shot, tucking the ball past the goalkeeper.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 9 Days to Go - What if Paolo Rossi Had Still Been Banned?," 5 June 2018
What can be done about negative stereotypes that portray older adults as out of touch, useless, feeble, incompetent, pitiful and irrelevant?

— judith graham, courant.com, "Believing Stereotypes About Aging Creates Self-Fulfilling Prophecy," 30 May 2018
Los Angeles has weathered the storm, thanks in part to a feeble NL West.

— jorge l. ortiz, USA TODAY, "MLB playoff outlook: Astros, Red Sox are locks, but for 10 teams, it's wait 'til next year," 29 May 2018
And the hitter around whom the entire franchise is built continues to look feeble at the plate.

— nick piecoro, azcentral, "Diamondbacks lose game to Mets, Steven Souza Jr. to injury," 18 May 2018
On September 13, 1885, Mary Locke, the wife of Pliny, delivered a feeble, sickly son at their home on South Nineteenth Street.

— tobi haslett, The New Yorker, "The Man Who Led the Harlem Renaissance—and His Hidden Hungers," 11 May 2018
Yet inflation pressures remain feeble, with the headline rate falling last month to the lowest since 2016 and producer-price growth slowing more than forecast in January, and recent surveys suggest the economy may be about to shift down a gear.

— piotr skolimowski, Bloomberg.com, "ECB Now Expected to Delay Changes to its Guidance on Future Policy," 2 Mar. 2018
Powell’s approach looked feeble to net neutrality advocates, who were backed by an emerging economic and political force: Silicon Valley.

— andrew rice, WIRED, "This Is Ajit Pai, Nemesis of Net Neutrality," 16 May 2018
Many were suspicious of this document, which consisted of four similarly hyperbolic paragraphs, especially after Hillary Clinton released a normal, detailed medical report as Trump tried to portray her as too feeble for the presidency.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "President’s Medical Report Was Actually Written by Dr. Donald Trump," 1 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'feeble.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of feeble

Middle English feble, from Anglo-French, from Latin flebilis lamentable, wretched, from flēre to weep — more at bleat

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

feeble Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of feeble

weak, feeble, frail, fragile, infirm, decrepit mean not strong enough to endure strain, pressure, or strenuous effort. weak applies to deficiency or inferiority in strength or power of any sort.