Weakly

Pronunciation: /wiːkli/

Definitions of weakly

adverb in a weak or feeble manner

Example Sentences

A1 She walked weakly after being sick for a week.

A2 The old man spoke weakly, struggling to be heard over the noise.

B1 The plant grew weakly due to lack of sunlight.

B2 The athlete performed weakly in the competition, disappointing his fans.

C1 The company's stock performed weakly in the market, causing concern among investors.

C2 The government's response to the crisis was criticized for being weakly executed.

Examples of weakly in a Sentence

formal The patient's pulse was weakly palpable, indicating a possible medical emergency.

informal She weakly attempted to lift the heavy box, but couldn't manage it on her own.

slang He weakly claimed that he didn't know anything about the missing money.

figurative The team's defense played weakly in the first half of the game, allowing several goals to be scored against them.

Grammatical Forms of weakly

• past tense: weakened
• plural: weaklies
• comparative: more weakly
• superlative: most weakly
• present tense: weakens
• future tense: will weaken
• perfect tense: has weakened
• continuous tense: is weakening
• singular: weakly
• positive degree: weak
• infinitive: to weaken
• gerund: weakening
• participle: weakened

Origin and Evolution of weakly

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'weakly' originated from the Old English word 'wāclīce' which means 'in a weak manner'

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'weakly' has evolved to not only describe physical weakness but also to indicate a lack of strength in various aspects such as character or argument.