: lacking willpower or resolution

Examples of weak-kneed in a Sentence

management is too weak-kneed to effectively enforce even a minimal dress code
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Sadly, Pope Paul VI, who succeeded John XIII, was weak-kneed, while John Paul II and Benedict XVI were conservative revanchists. R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018 Someone who, when in command, commands — and isn’t a weak-kneed politician. Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2024 Her yes left her weak-kneed in a more swoony kind of way. Tammy Lagorce, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024 Ohtani has the most weak-kneed and worthless advisors in the history of advisors. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024 And yet for three years, as the Assad regime repressed protests and Syria’s uprising morphed into a civil war, the United States has taken a curiously weak-kneed approach to justice and accountability in the conflict. David Kaye, Foreign Affairs, 23 Jan. 2014 DeSantis increasingly looks like an amalgam of Trump’s last GOP rivals for the presidency, particularly the sweaty Marco Rubio and the oily Ted Cruz: too conventional and weak-kneed to punch back when they’re bullied. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 23 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1766, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of weak-kneed was in 1766

Dictionary Entries Near weak-kneed

Cite this Entry

“Weak-kneed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weak-kneed. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Definition revised
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