weaken

American  

[wee-kuhn] / ˈwi kən /

verb (used with object)

1. to make weak or weaker.

   Synonyms:

   invalidate, minimize, impair, reduce, lower, diminish, lessen, deplete, exhaust, sap, undermine, enervate, debilitate, enfeeble

   Antonyms:

   strengthen

2. Phonetics. to change (a speech sound) to an articulation requiring less effort, as from geminate to nongeminate or from stop to fricative.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become weak or weaker.

   Synonyms:

   sap, undermine, enervate, debilitate, enfeeble, invalidate, minimize, impair, reduce, lower, diminish, lessen, deplete, exhaust

   Antonyms:

   strengthen

weaken British  

/ ˈwiːkən /

verb

1. to become or cause to become weak or weaker

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Other Word Forms

• reweaken verb
• unweakened adjective
• unweakening adjective
• weakener noun

Etymology

Origin of weaken

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

Example Sentences

Amid fears of stagflation, persistently high interest rates and a weakening labor market, our mood changes almost on a daily basis.

From The Wall Street Journal

Michael Dimler, senior vice president of private corporate credit at Morningstar DBRS, attributed the stress to a normal credit downturn where performance of loans weakens while newer investors seek to get their money back.

From The Wall Street Journal

Uncertainty over not just the future of EVs but tariffs and a weakening U.S. auto market has immobilized many suppliers, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Car purchases tend to weaken, for example, perhaps because in their mental accounting, people place cars and gasoline into the same spending bucket.

From The Wall Street Journal

And, when investors’ trust in the published net asset values starts to weaken, it can trigger a feedback loop of redemption requests.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• abate
• decline
• decrease
• depress
• dilute
• diminish
• dwindle
• halt
• impair
• lessen
• lower
• reduce
• sap
• soften
• undermine
• wane