weakling

[ week-ling ]

noun

1. a person who is physically or morally weak.

   Synonyms: namby-pamby, chicken, milksop

adjective

1. weak; not strong.

weakling

/ ˈwiːklɪŋ /

noun

1. a person or animal that is lacking in strength or weak in constitution or character

Word History and Origins

Origin of weakling¹

First recorded in 1520–30; weak + -ling ¹

Example Sentences

The U.S. economy is not a 90-pound weakling when it comes to manufacturing muscle.

From Seattle Times

Fox News cherry-picks video clips and factoids to portray President Biden as a weakling who is captive of his party's left wing or the Chinese Communist Party, or both.

From Salon

Fox News cherry-picks video clips and factoids to portray President Biden as a weakling who is captive of his party's left wing or the Chinese Communist Party, or both.

From Salon

But he was also responding to desires, among a hawkish sector of Russian society, to go to far greater extremes if necessary, at one point assailing Moscow’s “weakling grandpas” for lacking the “balls” to use nuclear weapons.

From New York Times

They must also develop a reconstruction program that helps make Ukraine a strong nation and not an economic weakling dependent on foreign aid.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• wimp