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
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
Many systems are either highly mobile but weakly connected, or strongly connected but slow to reconfigure and prone to losing mobility.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 16 Dec. 2025
In the sixth, Chisholm walked to the plate with Aaron Judge on second base and Giancarlo Stanton on first and two outs, but Chisholm grounded out weakly to second base.
—The Athletic Mlb Staff, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
The sun blasts us from the left and warm air puffs weakly from the vents.
—R29 Team, Refinery29, 19 Sep. 2025
After striking out weakly in his at-bat in the fourth, the Twins removed Jeffers from the game.
—David Brown, Twin Cities, 6 Sep. 2025
These differences matter — research shows the benefits are strongest where enforcement is clear and coverage is broad, while partial or weakly enforced laws yield far less impact.
—Nirit Cohen, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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
Many systems are either highly mobile but weakly connected, or strongly connected but slow to reconfigure and prone to losing mobility.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 16 Dec. 2025
In the sixth, Chisholm walked to the plate with Aaron Judge on second base and Giancarlo Stanton on first and two outs, but Chisholm grounded out weakly to second base.
—The Athletic Mlb Staff, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
The sun blasts us from the left and warm air puffs weakly from the vents.
—R29 Team, Refinery29, 19 Sep. 2025
After striking out weakly in his at-bat in the fourth, the Twins removed Jeffers from the game.
—David Brown, Twin Cities, 6 Sep. 2025
These differences matter — research shows the benefits are strongest where enforcement is clear and coverage is broad, while partial or weakly enforced laws yield far less impact.
—Nirit Cohen, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weakly
Adjective
-
Deuterons assemble well after the 100 MeV fireball cools, explaining how fragile nuclei endure extreme conditions.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In the latest violence rattling the fragile ceasefire, medics said two men were killed by Israeli forces in eastern Khan Younis, in an area adjacent to where the army operates.—
Nidal al-Mughrabi,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
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
-
Trump has directed his ire toward the Department of Labor agency ever since former Commissioner Erika McEntarfer authorized the release of a weak jobs report last summer.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Procedures harden, decision paths lengthen, and people wait for permission rather than acting on weak signals from the environment.—
Mark Murphy,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The outline of the jaw jitters faintly—two layers are ever so slightly misaligned.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The bonito smelled barely of the ocean, clean and faintly salty.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Under a cowboy hat and a long poncho, Weir looked visibly frail on stage.—
Paul Liberatore,
Mercury News,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Yes, Alice, the old, frail woman the series positions as suffering from Alzheimers or dementia was the Dahlonega serial killer.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Bailey drove again to the basket and softly banked in a left-handed layup to trim the Monarchs’ lead to 73-72.—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Land softly with your knees bent and go right into your next jump squat.—
RikkiLynn Shields Hannigan,
Health,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The 89-minute running time doesn’t allow much exposition, and in fact the opening sequence shows a veterinarian coming to treat a sickly Ben before having his face viciously torn off.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
8 Jan. 2026
-
This usually occurs when a dead limb or a sickly tree falls.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
2 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Lazarus Kgasi walks with ease across a gently rolling landscape about an hour's drive outside of Pretoria, South Africa.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Boil water and gently drop in the dango.—
Michiko Tomioka,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Weakly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weakly. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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