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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in coward
a person without strength of character
only a weakling would be willing to lie to save himself from punishment
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of weakling
Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
He's seen as a weakling, and he must be culled from the clan.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Last year, Paramount, which owns CBS Sports, looked like a weakling compared to its competitors.
—Alex Sherman,contessa Brewer, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2025
Separating the weakling from the herd only heightened their fear.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for weakling
Noun
The weaklings around Trump in the most senior positions of our government can do nothing other than agree with him.
—Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
He's seen as a weakling, and he must be culled from the clan.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Last year, Paramount, which owns CBS Sports, looked like a weakling compared to its competitors.
—Alex Sherman,contessa Brewer, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2025
Separating the weakling from the herd only heightened their fear.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for weakling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weakling
Adjective
-
But his father contracted pneumonia in 2011, and after two decades in prison, his body was too weak to fight it.—
Yumi Asada,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
That gap is where signal blindness, misalignment, bottlenecks, execution delays and weak learning loops quietly convert external change into our fragilities.—
Christopher Washington,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
And this name sounds like a wimp to me.—
Kathleen Perricone,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
-
What unites these movements is a shared contempt for the moderate, who is dismissed as cowardly, unprincipled, or insincere: wimps who inexplicably hate winning.—
Nikhil Krishnan,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Severance star Zach Cherry is Gary, a coward who isn’t sure he can be loved.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
-
And, in a way, this coward is the only sane one.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, particularly in young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.—
Angelique Brenes,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
-
While most healthy people can recover in four to seven days without treatment, some vulnerable people, such as children under 5, adults 65 and older and those with weakened immune systems, may experience more severe illness that requires medical treatment or hospitalization.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Supporters of the Republican candidate, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, portray Democrats as wusses, cucks, soy boys who don’t follow sports.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
-
Henry is a megalomaniac and a complete wuss.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Weakling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weakling. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
