1
as in to soften
to diminish the physical strength of
weeks of hardship in the desert had greatly weakened them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to fade
to lose bodily strength or vigor
the bodybuilder weakened once she eased off on her workouts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to dilute
to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances
weakened the juice with too much water
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of weaken
Their oversight role has been considerably weakened, but SB 1264 would do away with them altogether.
—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2025
But his support on those twin policy pillars are showing signs of weakening in a series of new polls pegged to his first 100 days back in power.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 24 Apr. 2025
China could also dump U.S. Treasuries for a few days, panicking the bond market and weakening the dollar.
—Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2025
The regime in Beijing therefore has considerable control over key nodes in the fentanyl chain: raw materials, production, sales and money laundering.
U.S. leaders, Democrats and Republicans alike, have accused China of using fentanyl to weaken the United States.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for weaken
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2025
But his support on those twin policy pillars are showing signs of weakening in a series of new polls pegged to his first 100 days back in power.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 24 Apr. 2025
China could also dump U.S. Treasuries for a few days, panicking the bond market and weakening the dollar.
—Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2025
The regime in Beijing therefore has considerable control over key nodes in the fentanyl chain: raw materials, production, sales and money laundering.
U.S. leaders, Democrats and Republicans alike, have accused China of using fentanyl to weaken the United States.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for weaken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weaken
Verb
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Grapes are chilled after picking for 24 hours to soften grape skins before whole cluster fermentation.—
Tom Mullen,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
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In a December call, the Pope lobbied Biden to soften death-row sentences for convicts.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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First, there was a drip-drip-drip of crisis: as costs everywhere rose, city, state, and federal monies faded away once COVID-era bailout efforts came to an end.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2025
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The blotchy black pattern was very obvious in small snakes but faded and less visible in larger ones, the study said.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The plain and active meaning of the word cannot be diluted by its constriction, as the government would have it, to a narrow term of art.—
TIME Staff,
Time,
18 Apr. 2025
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This approach dilutes your unique value proposition and distracts from your primary purpose.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Memorial at Florida State University after a fatal shooting killed two people and injured several others.—
Kati Weis,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2025
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The spill killed 11 people and injured 17 others as 210 million gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico (recently renamed by the U.S. government as Gulf of America) for a total of 87 days.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Here, a patchy pattern of material with that same high seismic velocity sagged to a depth of nearly 600 kilometers, almost to the lower mantle.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
17 Apr. 2025
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The production sagged to .214/.239/.312 the next year, leading the Guardians to waive him after the season.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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External fixation had stabilized the fracture, but the bone had become uncontrollably infected.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
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The farm voluntarily recalled the onions after the outbreak infected more than 100 people, killing one person.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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With the many debilitating symptoms of long COVID, diet often takes a backseat to medication or supplements.—
Mark Weinstein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Apr. 2025
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Santana, who is known musically just by his last name along with fellow bandmembers, did not appear before crowds at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, after suffering a debilitating bout of dehydration.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Dix’s conclusion is easily seen in the lives of famous entrepreneurs who failed at various times in their lives.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
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Because practices that work in one context may fail in another.—
HEC Paris Insights,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Weaken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weaken. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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