Synonyms of weakness

weakness

noun

ˈwēk-nəs 

1

as in fatigue

the quality or state of lacking physical strength or vigor

the flu left me with such overwhelming weakness that I could hardly stand

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fatigue
• exhaustion
• feebleness
• debility
• fragility
• faintness
• frailty
• impairment
• infirmity
• asthenia
• enervation
• debilitation
• injury
• enfeeblement
• lowness
• languor
• listlessness
• decay
• frailness
• wimpiness
• tenderness
• breakdown
• disablement
• damage
• languidness
• delicacy
• collapse
• helplessness
• impotence
• decrepitude
• powerlessness
• weariness
• softness
• prostration
• lassitude
• hurt
• harm
• invalidism
• defenselessness
• incapacitation
• impuissance
• effeteness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strength
• vigor
• robustness
• hardiness
• vitality
• energy
• hardihood
• fitness
• virility
• toughness
• hardness
• muscularity
• huskiness
• health
• sturdiness
• ruggedness
• stoutness
• soundness
• lustiness
• wellness
• brawniness
• healthiness
• heftiness

2

as in softness

the quality or state of lacking strength of will or character

in a moment of weakness he said yes to his daughter's request for a new toy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• softness
• frailness
• corruptness
• wimpiness
• frailty
• spinelessness
• evil
• flaw
• wimpishness
• corruption
• failing
• wishy-washiness
• collapse
• foible
• peccadillo
• wickedness
• immorality

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strength
• toughness
• fortitude
• nerve
• backbone
• firmness
• mettle
• hardihood
• discipline
• resoluteness
• chutzpah
• goodness
• integrity
• morality
• moxie
• righteousness
• rightness
• self-discipline
• rectitude
• uprightness
• virtuousness

3

as in fault

a defect in character

his one weakness is his cockeyed optimism about everything

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fault
• shortcoming
• sin
• deficiency
• failing
• foible
• frailty
• sinfulness
• vice
• demerit
• feet of clay
• flaw
• evil
• dereliction
• imperfection
• stain
• want
• blemish
• minus
• blot
• corruption
• immorality
• soft spot
• spot
• wickedness
• nit
• depravity
• Achilles' heel

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• virtue
• merit
• excellence
• perfection
• integrity
• goodness
• morality
• righteousness
• rectitude
• probity

4

as in vulnerability

the quality or state of having little resistance to some outside agent

the devastating weakness of the immune system that is experienced by people with certain chronic conditions

Synonyms & Similar Words

• vulnerability
• susceptibility
• sensitivity
• exposure
• defenselessness
• helplessness
• powerlessness
• proneness
• feebleness
• passivity
• frailty
• predisposition
• infirmity
• openness
• naïveté
• passiveness
• gullibility
• receptivity
• easiness
• frailness
• receptiveness
• liability
• credulity
• credulousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• invulnerability
• immunity
• impenetrability
• invincibility
• indomitability
• indomitableness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of weakness

Whoever wins the upcoming presidential election will inherit these sources of weakness. — Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026

In Finance​ Give agentic AI fragmented data, inconsistent processes or unclear ownership, and those weaknesses become part of how the technology operates. — Ari Widlansky, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Sharpe’s best skill addresses one of Brooklyn’s clearest weaknesses. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026

Technology continues to prop up the S&P 500, even as other parts of the market are showing weakness. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026