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weakling

American  
[week-ling] / ˈwik lɪŋ /

noun

  1. a person who is physically or morally weak.

    Synonyms:
    namby-pamby, chicken, milksop

adjective

  1. weak; not strong.

weakling British  
/ ˈwiːklɪŋ /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of weakling

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If he defends Trump he looks like a weakling, especially in light of the barrage of insults Trump has been hurling at him over the past couple of weeks.

From Salon

The star Italian defender, Leonardo Bonucci, who scored a critical second-half goal, was caught mocking the angry English fans, calling them weaklings who needed “to eat more pasta.”

From New York Times

Predictably, some Republicans are taking the opportunity to paint President Biden as the weakling author of this ignominious withdrawal.

From Washington Post

He had grown up with the sentiment that air-conditioning wasn’t necessary — “that it was for weaklings, for anyone who couldn’t deal.”

From New York Times

"I don't want to be a hero, I don't want to be a martyr, I don't want to be a weakling, I don't want to be a fool," he wrote two weeks after the coup.

From Reuters

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.