weakling 1 of 2

weakling

2 of 2

noun

1
as in wimp
a person lacking in physical strength he had been a weakling until high school, when he started working out to put on muscle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in coward
a person without strength of character only a weakling would be willing to lie to save himself from punishment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of weakling
Noun
True to predictions, this El Niño is a weakling. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2019 Only weaklings try to shut everybody up and scorch any kind of dissent. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 17 Apr. 2023 Though Ivory was a 118-pound teenage weakling uninterested in athletics, an approving steam-room glance from his father, who ran a lumber company, assured the son that his own endowment (cut, a distinction of some socioeconomic preoccupation) was more than adequate. Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2021 That transformed the storm from a wandering weakling into into roaring Super Typhoon with winds swirling at 160 mph. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2017 See all Example Sentences for weakling 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weakling
Adjective
  • Other checks on Trump’s policy will also be far weaker.
    Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024
  • Each endpoint can be assessed to sniff out weak points.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Compared to 88-year-old percussion master Pete Escovedo, Keith Sweat, John Michael Montgomery, Frankie Beverly and the members of the Eagles and Aventura seem like, well, wimps.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2024
  • Blake is not an emasculated wimp; his confidence is complete, his suavity bordering on the toxic.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Noun
  • Don't stand there like a coward, come here and say it.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
  • Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it.
    Christian Holub, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • Of the two sisters in the yellow house, Paula is a much gentler girl, a wuss, a baby, the biggest chicken—that’s how her sister thinks of her—and Rhonda is the boss.
    Alex Mar, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2023
  • Teach, who carries a gun, is a wuss about the rain.
    New York Times, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2022
Noun
  • For all her professional bravado, among those closest to her, Silverman is known as a sentimental softy.
    Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2023
  • There are several great performances going on that add some surprising depth to characters that could easily be one-note, led by Scott Foley, who seems to be having the most fun as Nick Blackburn, the outwardly cynical executive producer of the show who is, deep down (way, way deep down), a softy.
    Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021

Thesaurus Entries Near weakling

Cite this Entry

“Weakling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weakling. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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