as in fragile
chronically or repeatedly suffering from poor health
a weakly baby who required repeated hospitalizations
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as in feebly
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Recent Examples of weakly
Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 26 Mar. 2026
There were sketches that ran too long, or ended weakly, but were generally redeemed by a young(ish), confident 11-member cast that made the most of them.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
The system is set up to detect what are called light dark matter particles, which interact so weakly with regular matter that other methods of detecting them have failed.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
With his team down by a run in the bottom of the ninth, Araúz pinch hit for Allen Córdoba and grounded out weakly to second base.
—Melissa Lockard, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Instead, the commissioner weakly would not even commit to an investigation of Tisch at the Super Bowl.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026
In 1946, Congress responded weakly to mounting overseas food needs.
—Peter Simons, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026
In 1946, Congress responded weakly to mounting overseas food needs.
—Peter Simons, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
They’d been poorly reviewed, sold weakly, and were generally held in low esteem except by a select few.
—Vince Passaro, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Adverb
Silseth threw him one pitch, and Alvarez grounded weakly to second.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 26 Mar. 2026
There were sketches that ran too long, or ended weakly, but were generally redeemed by a young(ish), confident 11-member cast that made the most of them.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
The system is set up to detect what are called light dark matter particles, which interact so weakly with regular matter that other methods of detecting them have failed.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
With his team down by a run in the bottom of the ninth, Araúz pinch hit for Allen Córdoba and grounded out weakly to second base.
—Melissa Lockard, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Instead, the commissioner weakly would not even commit to an investigation of Tisch at the Super Bowl.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026
In 1946, Congress responded weakly to mounting overseas food needs.
—Peter Simons, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026
In 1946, Congress responded weakly to mounting overseas food needs.
—Peter Simons, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
They’d been poorly reviewed, sold weakly, and were generally held in low esteem except by a select few.
—Vince Passaro, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weakly
Adjective
-
Hezbollah entered the war on March 2 with a barrage of missiles against Israel, breaking the fragile November 2024 ceasefire.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Mar. 2026
-
DiMarco is a perfect fit as the besotted but fragile boy-man groom while Jason Leigh interjects hazy weirdness while Levine, Wilbusch, Birney, Crome and Fraser keep our suspicions about them on high.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Heathcliff’s racial ambiguity — so central to the novel’s violence and otherness — is feebly erased.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
-
One man aboard the boat knew how to navigate the mangroves and sandbars of the keys, and with the late summer sun beating down on the rafters, the boat pushed out feebly into the open ocean.—
Miriam Pensack,
The Dial,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
An atmospheric river should track across California, even into southern California, by Tuesday, March 31, but is currently forecast to remain too weak to cause flooding issues, the WPC said.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
-
At the hospital in Dollow, mothers sat shoulder to shoulder on narrow beds holding frail children, some too weak to cry while others let out soft whimpers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The syrupy sweetness brought to mind a pancake, while the faintly cultured cheese turned it savory.—
Cesar Hernandez,
San Francisco Chronicle,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Bachata played faintly, with plucky notes from the guitar cutting through cows' grunts.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
At the hospital in Dollow, mothers sat shoulder to shoulder on narrow beds holding frail children, some too weak to cry while others let out soft whimpers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
For all its public association with queerness, ballet remains largely committed to a frail, wispy femininity and a princely but muscular and explosive masculinity—with the stringent, often punishing body-shape standards to match.—
Chloe Angyal,
Time,
9 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
And yet, Meghan has embraced a subtle style shift across the last year, experimenting softly with more glamorous looks.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Old hands at the magazine long have whispered that the secret of the Oscar party’s success has been its near-perfect red carpet lighting — meticulously calibrated to softly and forgivingly cover up the flaws of any guest lucky enough to be photographed beneath it.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Working with his regular cinematographer Oleg Mutu, Loznitsa gives this prison — and authoritarianism itself — a sickly luster without ever denying its wretched stench.—
Tim Grierson,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
-
In a large, rather attractive room, five men sat around a table, all in military uniforms, except for one sickly old man.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
And nothing compares to waking up beside Alice Lake, where sunrise casts the 9,899-foot El Capitan in pale honey light—an image almost perfectly mirrored in gently lapping water below.—
Madison Chapman,
Outside,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Instead of relying purely on hydration, this formula includes salicylic acid, which gently exfoliates and keeps pores clear so that breakouts don’t come back.—
Hana Hong,
Glamour,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Weakly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weakly. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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