infirmityformal
B2[ C ]
a particular part or quality of someone or something that is not good or effective: 弱点；缺点；不足
There are definite weaknesses in their security arrangements.他们在安全部署上肯定有漏洞。
His main weakness as a manager is his inability to delegate.作为经理，他的主要弱点在于不知道如何把工作分配给下属。
The later novels show none of the weaknesses of his earlier work.后来的小说全无他早期作品中的那些缺点。
 weakness for
C2
a strong liking, usually for something that might have unpleasant or unwanted effects: （通常指对不好的东西的）嗜好，迷恋
My diet would be fine if only I didn't have a weakness for cookies.要不是我对甜食过于偏好，我的日常饮食将是比较健康的。
Any hesitation on the part of the government will be seen as weakness.政府的任何一丝犹豫都会被看作是软弱的表现。
This latest conflict further illustrates the weakness of the UN.最近的这次冲突进一步说明了联合国的软弱。
His inability to handle the situation is a sure sign of weakness.他无法控制局面无疑是一种软弱的表现。
Admitting you've made a mistake is a sign of strength, not weakness.承认自己犯了错误显示出的是坚强，而不是软弱。
In a position of authority, a weakness for the opposite sex leaves you open to blackmail.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Weakness and vulnerability
Achilles heel
asthenia
at a low ebbidiom
atonic
atony
fragile
fragility
frail
glass jaw
helpless
shakily
shakiness
shaky
sitting duck
sitting target
weak-willed
weakling
weakly
weedy
wetly

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Faults and mistakes

weakness | American Dictionary

weakness
noun[ C/U ]
us/ˈwik·nəs/
lack of strength or energy:
[ U ]The building’s collapse was caused by weakness in several beams.
Weakness is also a fault in someone’s character:
[ U ]Is crying always a sign of weakness?
A weakness is also a strong liking for something:
[ C ]She admitted to a weakness for desserts.

weakness | Business English

weakness
noun
uk /ˈwiːknəs/us
[ U ]
a situation in which someone or something is at a low level or is not strong or successful:
weakness against sthThe dollar's weakness against the Euro has made European goods more expensive here.
weakness in sthWeakness in the economy is accelerating.
She is concerned by the weakness of Europe's single currency.
[ C ]
a particular part or quality of someone or something that is not good or effective:
A smart management team knows its company's strengths and weaknesses.
There are definite weaknesses in their security arrangements.
His main weakness is his inability to delegate.

Examples of weakness

weakness
Political parties, despite their weaknesses and manipulation, are characteristic of liberal democracy.
But there is a danger that the basic weaknesses of these approaches get lost in a daze of technical sophistication.
This weakness depended in part on structural attributes, especially levels of electoral competition.
Sadly, however, many of them are unlikely to stay the course because of a series of interlocking presentational weaknesses.
A review of strengths and weaknesses would have been useful.
Still, the main weakness of this study is its lack of serious attention to publicpolicy recommendations for reform.
Indeed, in a broader context, this omission signals the greatest weakness of an otherwise excellent book.
You can find other solutions, other ways to express and give form to your weakness and strength.
A third weakness is the relatively small number of interviews conducted by the author.
The weakness resolves on successful treatment of the endocrine disorder.
Such statements reflect the weaknesses of this book.
Very few scholars have even addressed the weaknesses of civil society groups as organisational and ideological entities.
Our analysis indicated the main trends in each subfield of ontology change and showed the main strengths and weaknesses of the dominating research paradigms.
Providing feedback to the general practices raised practitioners' awareness of strengths and weaknesses in their electronic record keeping.
These weaknesses aside, forest decision-making in the two communities tends toward shared input for shared benefits.
See all examples of weakness
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations withweakness

weakness

These are words often used in combination with weakness.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

economic weakness
The third economicweakness that traditionally triggers privatisation is a severe budget deficit.
fatal weakness
That seems to me to be a fatalweakness.
From the
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