as in weak
lacking strength of will or character
argues that in a time of war, the country can't afford to have a weakling president
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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as in coward
a person without strength of character
only a weakling would be willing to lie to save himself from punishment
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of weakling
Karen Heller, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2023
True to predictions, this El Niño is a weakling.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2019
Only weaklings try to shut everybody up and scorch any kind of dissent.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 17 Apr. 2023
Though Ivory was a 118-pound teenage weakling uninterested in athletics, an approving steam-room glance from his father, who ran a lumber company, assured the son that his own endowment (cut, a distinction of some socioeconomic preoccupation) was more than adequate.
—Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2021
See all Example Sentences for weakling 
Noun
The book is no 179-page weakling.
—Karen Heller, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2023
True to predictions, this El Niño is a weakling.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2019
Only weaklings try to shut everybody up and scorch any kind of dissent.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 17 Apr. 2023
Though Ivory was a 118-pound teenage weakling uninterested in athletics, an approving steam-room glance from his father, who ran a lumber company, assured the son that his own endowment (cut, a distinction of some socioeconomic preoccupation) was more than adequate.
—Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2021
See all Example Sentences for weakling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weakling
Adjective
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Twilio — Shares of the cloud communications company plunged 15% on the heels of its weak earnings guidance.—
Hakyung Kim,
CNBC,
14 Feb. 2025
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The Trade Desk missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates and issued weak guidance.—
Medora Lee,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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But the character, in Groening’s view, turned out to be a wimp.—
Darryn King,
Vulture,
17 Dec. 2024
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The hard labor of making Wabanaki baskets Wabanaki basket-making isn’t for wimps.—
Debra Utacia Krol,
USA TODAY,
29 Nov. 2024
Noun
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McGee, Knight, and Torres step onto the Elevator of Schemes and Secrets full of speculation, like why is LaRoche interested in scoring political points with this case, and what kind of coward hides behind a fake name anyway?—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
17 Dec. 2024
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This sick, twisted and evil coward showed no regard for Laken or human life.—
Audrey Conklin,
Fox News,
21 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Of the two sisters in the yellow house, Paula is a much gentler girl, a wuss, a baby, the biggest chicken—that’s how her sister thinks of her—and Rhonda is the boss.—
Alex Mar,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2023
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Teach, who carries a gun, is a wuss about the rain.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2022
Noun
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Knox is a Great Pyrenees and Labrador mix who, despite weighing 77 pounds, is considered something of a softy.—
Gord Magill,
Newsweek,
21 Dec. 2024
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For all her professional bravado, among those closest to her, Silverman is known as a sentimental softy.—
Amy Kaufman,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Nov. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near weakling
Cite this Entry
“Weakling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weakling. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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