weaken

play

verb weak·en \ ˈwē-kən \

Definition of weaken

weakened; weakening play \ˈwēk-niŋ, ˈwē-kə-\

transitive verb

1 :to make weak :lessen the strength of

2 :to reduce in intensity or effectiveness

intransitive verb

:to become weak

—

weakener

play \ˈwēk-nər, ˈwē-kə-\ noun

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Examples of weaken in a Sentence

The disease weakens the immune system.
Some are concerned that the increase in taxes will weaken the economy.
The beams had been weakened by water damage.
efforts to weaken environmental laws
The recent setbacks have not weakened our resolve.
These kinds of contradictions weaken your argument.
The disease causes the immune system to weaken.
The dollar has continued to weaken against the euro.
Lower interest rates have weakened the dollar.

Recent Examples of weaken from the Web

Harvey is expected to weaken, but will slog through Louisiana for much of the day before taking its downpours north.

— chicagotribune.com, "Harvey floods evacuee shelter in Port Arthur as storm makes second landfall in Louisiana," 30 Aug. 2017
Harvey, which first made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane Friday, is expected to weaken and continue to the north.

— jane onyanga-omara, USA TODAY, "Tropical Storm Harvey makes 2nd landfall just west of Cameron, La.," 30 Aug. 2017
A faction on the left wants to weaken the free-speech rights that protect marginalized people at the very moment when doing so would help Donald Trump to persecute them.

— conor friedersdorf, The Atlantic, "The Most Shortsighted Attack on Free Speech in Modern U.S. History," 23 Aug. 2017
What's clear is that Littlefinger is orchestrating this to weaken the Starks and take power on his own.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Game of Thrones Is Now Pure Fan Fiction," 21 Aug. 2017
With every unsettling outburst, the president weakens his political firewall.

— vanityfair.com, "Did Trump Just Sign His Own Political Death Warrant?," 16 Aug. 2017
Hair is mostly keratin — about 90 percent, in fact — but that doesn’t mean much. Straightening treatments, dyes, heat, and wear and tear all work to weaken your hair’s natural supply.

— ashley weatherford, The Cut, "The Best New Shampoo Is Made From Human Hair," 15 Aug. 2017
As export revenue shrank, the region’s currencies weakened, curbing imports and pushing up inflation.

— The Economist, "Latin America’s disappointing economic growth," 20 July 2017
Hurricane Fernanda weakened slightly from a Category 4 storm to a Category 3 with winds of 125 mph as of Sunday afternoon.

— leigh morgan, AL.com, "Hurricane center keeping an eye on tropical wave in Atlantic," 16 July 2017

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

First Known Use of weaken

1530

weaken Synonyms

Synonyms

debilitate, devitalize, enervate, enfeeble, etiolate, prostrate, sap, soften, tire, waste

Antonyms

beef (up), fortify, strengthen

Related Words

cripple, disable, hamstring, incapacitate; deplete, depress, exhaust, impoverish, unman, wash out; damage, harm, hurt, impair, injure, invalid, lay up; break down, grind (down), wear down, wear out; paralyze

Near Antonyms

energize, invigorate, recruit, rejuvenate, vitalize; harden, season, toughen

Synonym Discussion of weaken

weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, undermine, sap, cripple, disable mean to lose or cause to lose strength or vigor. weaken may imply loss of physical strength, health, soundness, or stability or of quality, intensity, or effective power.