feeble
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
very weak and without much physical strength, often because of age or illness.
deficient in physical strength or vitality, typically due to senescence, pathology, or exhaustion.
Simple“The patient was too feeble to sit up in bed without help from the nurse.”
In context“After weeks of fever, the old man was left in a feeble state, barely able to lift a spoon to his mouth.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
not strong or effective, like a quiet sound, a dim light, or a bad excuse.
lacking intensity, force, or effectiveness in action or expression.
Simple“He made a feeble excuse for being late, but nobody believed him.”
In context“The torch emitted only a feeble beam of light that failed to penetrate the thick fog surrounding the hikers.”
Antonyms
Etymology tree Anglo-Norman feblebor. Middle English feble English feeble From Middle English feble, from Anglo-Norman feble (“weak, feeble”) (compare French faible), from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”) by dissimilation, from fleō (“to weep, cry”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-. Doublet of foible.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.