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English

weakly

gb/wˈikli/ us/wˈikli/
B2 English
~ 9700
Senses
0 senses
adverb B2 property
1

in a way that is not strong

In a way that is not strong; with little power, energy, or feeling.

Usage pattern: [someone] [verb] weakly
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "weakly" with "weekly". "Weakly" means "in a weak way" and describes how something is done (adverb). "Weekly" means "every week" and describes how often something happens. Example: "He smiled weakly" (correct) vs. "He smiled weekly" (wrong). Learners also sometimes say "He is weakly" when describing a person. In that case, use the adjective: "He is weak," not "He is weakly."
Synonyms
feebly (Emphasizes physical weakness or lack of energy more strongly than "weakly".) | faintly (Suggests something is only just noticeable, often for sounds or lights, not always about strength of effort.) | poorly (Can mean "not well" in a general sense, including quality or health, not only lack of strength.)
Antonyms
strongly (General opposite, showing a lot of power, feeling, or effect.) | firmly (Opposite in contexts of physical pressure or mental resolve, stressing steadiness and strength.) | forcefully (Opposite when talking about speech or actions done with a lot of power or impact.)
Collocations
smile weakly |laugh weakly |breathe weakly |protest weakly |argue weakly |shake hands weakly
Themes
daily life |health |emotions |core_vocabulary
Examples
  • She smiled weakly and sank back onto the pillow.
  • He protested weakly but finally agreed to their plan.
  • The injured bird beat its wings weakly before collapsing.
  • I could hear her calling my name weakly from the next room.
  • He shook my hand weakly, as if he were very tired.
Learner examples
  • The old man walked weakly across the room.
  • She laughed weakly at the joke, but she was still very sad.
  • The baby cried weakly because it was sick.
  • He knocked weakly on the door and waited.
  • My grandmother speaks weakly when she is tired.
adverb technical C2 property
2

in a mathematically weak sense

In math, science, or computing, in a way that follows an easier or less strict rule than the full or "strong" rule, often allowing equality.

Usage pattern: weakly [adjective] [noun]
Common mistake:
Learners often interpret "weakly" here as simply "a little" or "slightly" and miss the formal meaning that a weaker or non-strict version of a condition is being used, usually in contrast with "strongly" or "strictly". In phrases like "weakly increasing," it does not just mean "increasing only a little"; it means "never decreasing and possibly staying equal."
Synonyms
non-strictly (Used mainly with inequalities in mathematics to mean that equality is allowed; very close in some contexts (e.g., non-strictly increasing).) | loosely (Sometimes used informally to mean "not in the strict sense," but less precise and more general than "weakly.")
Antonyms
strongly (Direct technical opposite, meaning the stronger or more restrictive version of a property holds.) | strictly (Opposite in the context of inequalities or conditions that do not allow equality or exceptions.)
Collocations
weakly increasing |weakly decreasing |weakly stationary |weakly convergent |weakly NP-hard |weakly typed
Themes
science |mathematics |technology |education
Examples
  • The sequence is weakly increasing if each term is greater than or equal to the previous term.
  • A function that is weakly convex satisfies the convexity condition in a relaxed form.
  • In theoretical computer science, a problem can be weakly NP-hard even if small instances are easy to solve.
  • The model assumes demand is weakly decreasing in price.
  • In this language, variables are weakly typed, so some type errors only appear at runtime.
Learner examples
  • In math class, we learned that a line is weakly increasing if it never goes down.
  • The teacher said the rule is weakly true, because there are some special cases.
  • In statistics, two variables can be weakly correlated if the relationship is very small.
  • A function that is weakly decreasing can stay the same or go down, but it does not go up.
  • In computer science, a weakly typed language lets you mix some data types without errors at compile time.
Grammar
Dictionary form
weakly
IPA
GB/wˈikli/
US/wˈikli/
Syllables & stress
weakly (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (weakly)
Word forms
Noun
  • Base: weakly
  • Plural: weaklies
Word family
Forms
weaklies noun
Core family
weak adjective A2 weakness noun A2 weaken verb B1
Negative and opposite forms
strong adjective A1 strongly adverb B1 strength noun A2 strengthen verb B1
Advanced or less common
weakling noun
Expressions

weakly acidic

1
/wˈikli əsˈɪdɪk/
fixed phrase technical

having low acid strength

Used in chemistry to describe a substance or solution that is an acid but not a strong one, often because it only partly breaks into ions in water.

Examples
  • Acetic acid is weakly acidic compared to hydrochloric acid.
  • The solution is only weakly acidic, so it is not very dangerous to handle with care.
  • Rainwater is usually weakly acidic due to dissolved carbon dioxide.

weakly basic

1
/wˈikli bˈeɪsɪk/
fixed phrase technical

having low base strength

Used in chemistry to describe a base that is not very strong, often because it does not take protons or form ions very easily in water.

Examples
  • Ammonia is weakly basic in water, so its pH is only slightly above neutral.
  • The solution is weakly basic, with a pH just over 7.
  • Some salts create a weakly basic environment when they dissolve.

weakly correlated

1
/wˈikli kˈɔɹəlˌeɪtɪd/
fixed phrase technical

having a small statistical link

Used in statistics to say that two variables are related, but only a little; the strength of the relationship is low.

Examples
  • Income and happiness are only weakly correlated in many studies.
  • The two measurements are weakly correlated, so one does not predict the other very well.
  • Although the variables are weakly correlated, the effect is still statistically significant.

weakly decreasing

1
/wˈikli dɪkɹˈisɪŋ/
fixed phrase technical

mathematical non-increasing behavior

Used in math to describe a function or sequence that never goes up: it can go down or stay the same, but it does not go up.

Examples
  • The probability of error is weakly decreasing as the sample size grows.
  • A weakly decreasing sequence can remain constant for many steps before it drops.
  • If demand is weakly decreasing in price, raising the price will not increase the quantity demanded.

weakly increasing

1
/wˈikli ɪŋkɹˈisɪŋ/
fixed phrase technical

mathematical non-decreasing behavior

Used in math to describe a function or sequence that never goes down: it can go up or stay the same, but it does not go down.

Examples
  • The function is weakly increasing on the interval, since its value never decreases as x grows.
  • A weakly increasing sequence may contain many repeated values.
  • If the cost is weakly increasing in quantity, buying more never makes it cheaper per unit.

weakly typed

1
/wˈikli tˈaɪpt/
fixed phrase technical

programming language with loose types

Used about a programming language where the rules about data types are not very strict, so the computer may change types automatically or only find type problems when the program runs.

Examples
  • JavaScript is often described as a weakly typed language because it allows many implicit type conversions.
  • In a weakly typed system, adding a number to a string may not cause an immediate error.
  • Some developers prefer strongly typed languages, while others like the flexibility of weakly typed ones.
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