weakness

weakness
   a tendency towards self-indulgence
   Often tout court of drunkenness, and in phrases such as a weakness for the drink, a weakness for men or women (profligacy), a weakness for boys (homosexuality in men), a weakness for the horses (addiction to gambling), etc.:
    ... their Mr Fellowes did have a weakness. (Bogarde, 1983 — he was a drunkard)
    ... it was a weakness for one of the secretaries in the P.A.'s office that had ended his first marriage. (Turow, 1999)
   See also the delightful Irish strong weakness under strong waters.

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • weakness — weak‧ness [ˈwiːkns] noun 1. [uncountable] a lack of power, success, or influence: • The stock market doesn t fully reflect the weakness in the economy. • With this weakness in the market, buyers are able to name their prices and find willing… …   Financial and business terms

  • Weakness — Weak ness, n. 1. The quality or state of being weak; want of strength or firmness; lack of vigor; want of resolution or of moral strength; feebleness. [1913 Webster] 2. That which is a mark of lack of strength or resolution; a fault; a defect.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • weakness — ► NOUN 1) the state or condition of being weak. 2) a disadvantage or fault. 3) a person or thing that one is unable to resist. 4) (weakness for) a self indulgent liking for …   English terms dictionary

  • weakness — [wēknis] n. 1. the state or quality of being weak 2. a weak point; fault or defect, as in one s character 3. a) a liking; esp., an immoderate fondness (for something) b) something of which one is immoderately fond [candy is my one weakness] SYN.… …   English World dictionary

  • weakness — index caducity, defect, deficiency, detriment, disability (physical inability), disadvantage, disease, flaw, foible …   Law dictionary

  • weakness — c.1300, quality of being weak, from WEAK (Cf. weak) + NESS (Cf. ness). Meaning a disadvantage, vulnerability is from 1590s. That of self indulgent fondness is from 1712; meaning thing for which one has an indulgent fondness is from 1822 …   Etymology dictionary

  • weakness — [n] defect, proneness Achilles heel*, appetite*, blemish, chink in armor*, debility, decrepitude, deficiency, delicacy, enervation, failing, faintness, fault, feebleness, flaw, fondness, fragility, frailty, gap, impairment, imperfection,… …   New thesaurus

  • Weakness — This article is about the medical condition. For other uses, see Weakness (disambiguation). Asthenia redirects here. The tortrix moth genus is nowadays considered a junior synonym of Epinotia. ICD 10 M62.8 ICD 9 728.87 ( …   Wikipedia

  • weakness — weak|ness W3 [ˈwi:knıs] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(fault)¦ 2¦(lack of power)¦ 3¦(body)¦ 4¦(character)¦ 5¦(money)¦ 6 a weakness for something ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1.) ¦(FAULT)¦ a fault in someone s character or in a system, organization, design etc …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • weakness — noun 1 lack of strength ADJECTIVE ▪ big, fundamental, great, major, profound, serious, significant ▪ glaring ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • weakness — n. quality of being weak 1) to reveal, show weakness 2) weakness in (his weakness in mathematics) fondness 3) a weakness for (a weakness for chocolate) * * * [ wiːknɪs] show weakness [ quality of being weak ] to reveal [ fondness ] a weakness for …   Combinatory dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”