Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One of weak constitution or character.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A feeble creature.
  • Feeble; weak.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A weak or feeble creature.
  • adjective Weak; feeble.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective weak, either physically, morally or mentally
  • noun A person of weak or even sickly physical constitution
  • noun figuratively A person of weak character, lacking in courage and/or moral strength.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person who is physically weak and ineffectual

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

weak + -ling

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Examples

  • To call a weakling strong, a fool wise, a short man tall, a black man white, a sinner holy,—is, believe me, not praise but contumely.

    The Early Middle Ages 500-1000 Robert Brentano 1964

  • He had never been called a weakling before -- he had never thought to be called a weakling, but the strangeness of that was less strange than something in her eyes, her voice, her spirit, which seemed drawing him on.

    The Glory of the Conquered The Story of a Great Love Susan Glaspell 1915

  • He had never been called a weakling before -- he had never thought to be called a weakling, but the strangeness of that was less strange than something in her eyes, her voice, her spirit, which seemed drawing him on.

    The Glory of the Conquered The Story of a Great Love Susan Glaspell 1915

  • He had never been called a weakling before -- he had never thought to be called a weakling, but the strangeness of that was less strange than something in her eyes, her voice, her spirit, which seemed drawing him on.

    The Glory of the Conquered The Story of a Great Love Susan Glaspell 1915

  • Though I am not, and never have been, save in the parole starvation time, what one would call a weakling, my first trip to town with eighty-five pounds of ore on my back nearly killed me.

    Branded Francis Lynde 1893

  • Sr W. -- Most gracious maisty, 'twas I that did it, but indeed it was so poor and frail a note, compared with such as I am wont to furnish, yt in sooth I was ashamed to call the weakling mine in so august a presence.

    1601 Mark Twain 1872

  • What kind of weakling needs government approval to do the right thing?

    More Torture Thoughts Steven Barnes 2009

  • Augustus: You state that Obama is a 'weakling' because he did not tell "... muslims to respect other religions" on his first trip to a muslim land.

    On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2009

  • I've hammered on the Southeast Division quite a bit in recent years, but those teams' play this season has brought new meaning to definition of 'weakling'.

    Archive 2008-01-01 James Mirtle 2008

  • It had returned him to his former 'weakling' self, for a time.

    Before Destruction Rossi, Michael 1991

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