weaken

weaken
weaken weak‧en [ˈwiːkən] verb
1. [intransitive, transitive] FINANCE if investments, prices, currencies etc weaken, or something weakens them, they begin to fall in value:

• A combination of low US interest rates and a rising Euro will weaken the dollar.

• Work stoppages will cause an already weakening economy to slow further.

• London shares weakened, while Frankfurt stocks finished strong.

2. [transitive] to make something less powerful, successful, or profitable:

• Further weakened by the recession, the airline filed for bankruptcy.

• Many agencies fear that revealing the use of subcontractors may weaken their reputations as full-service shops.

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weaken UK US /ˈwiːkən/ verb [I or T]
► ECONOMICS, POLITICS, FINANCE to become or make something or someone become less powerful, successful, effective, etc.: »

A series of scandals weakened investor confidence.

 »

The plan has divided the country and weakened the government.

 »

They will reduce interest rates if the economy weakens.

 »

They slashed profit growth forecasts yesterday in the face of poor sales and weakening consumer spending.

► STOCK MARKET, FINANCE if markets, investments, etc. weaken, or if something weakens them, they fall in value: weaken against sth »

Sterling might weaken against the euro if the dollar does.

 »

The shares weakened 2.5p to 225.25p.

 »

German producer prices weakened in July.


Financial and business terms. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Weaken — Weak en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Weakened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Weakening}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To make weak; to lessen the strength of; to deprive of strength; to debilitate; to enfeeble; to enervate; as, to weaken the body or the mind; to weaken the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • weaken — weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, undermine, sap, cripple, disable can mean to lose or cause to lose, strength, vigor, or energy. Weaken, the most general term of this group, most frequently implies loss of the physical strength or functional… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • weaken — [wē′kən] vt., vi. to make or become weak or weaker weakener n. SYN. WEAKEN, the most general of these words, implies a lessening of strength, power, soundness, etc. [weakened by disease, to weaken an argument ]; DEBILITATE suggests a partial or… …   English World dictionary

  • Weaken — Weak en, v. i. To become weak or weaker; to lose strength, spirit, or determination; to become less positive or resolute; as, the patient weakened; the witness weakened on cross examination. His notion weakens, his discernings are lethargied.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • weaken — index adulterate, alleviate, attenuate, countervail, damage, debase, debilitate, denature, deplete …   Law dictionary

  • weaken — 1520s, from WEAK (Cf. weak) + EN (Cf. en) (1). The earlier verb was simply weak (late 14c.). Related: Weakened; weakening …   Etymology dictionary

  • weaken — [v] reduce the strength of abate, adulterate, break up, cripple, crumble, cut, debase, debilitate, decline, decrease, depress, devitalize, dilute, diminish, droop, dwindle, ease up, enervate, exhaust, fade, fail, faint, flag, give way, halt,… …   New thesaurus

  • weaken — ► VERB ▪ make or become weak …   English terms dictionary

  • weaken */*/ — UK [ˈwiːkən] / US [ˈwɪkən] verb Word forms weaken : present tense I/you/we/they weaken he/she/it weakens present participle weakening past tense weakened past participle weakened 1) a) [intransitive/transitive] to make someone physically less… …   English dictionary

  • weaken — verb ADVERB ▪ considerably, greatly, seriously, severely, significantly, substantially ▪ badly ▪ The military was badly weakened by the sanctions …   Collocations dictionary

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