as in deterioration
a gradual sinking and wasting away of mind or body
the all-too-apparent weakening of our grandfather was hard on our mother
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in draining
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in softening
to diminish the physical strength of
weeks of hardship in the desert had greatly weakened them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fading
to lose bodily strength or vigor
the bodybuilder weakened once she eased off on her workouts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in diluting
to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances
weakened the juice with too much water
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of weakening
Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 19 June 2026
Friday, a weakening ridge and an approaching front will allow scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop.
—Lauren Bostwick, CBS News, 9 June 2026
But the United States' retreat from the worldwide public health stage amid the outbreak in Africa and a worldwide measles outbreak has some experts concerned any weakening of public health makes the America susceptible to infectious diseases.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 6 June 2026
India’s economy has been under strain since the start of the Iran war, as energy supply disruptions have led to the weakening of the rupee against the dollar, and there are mounting concerns about slowing growth and rising inflation.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 4 June 2026
However, beginning in 1989, the weakening and eventual fall of the Soviet Union marked a return to energy insecurity, and electricity produced in Cuba fell by 25% by 1994.
—Luisa Blanco, Sun Sentinel, 2 June 2026
Protects against rot and water infiltration, reducing the risk of weakening, structural failure, and decay.
—Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 29 May 2026
Wall Street’s primary concern is competition from Anthropic and OpenAI weakening demand and pricing power for its customer relationship management software, which for years drove robust growth at high margins.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 27 May 2026
However, beginning in 1989, the weakening and eventual fall of the Soviet Union marked a return to energy insecurity, and electricity produced in Cuba fell by 25% by 1994.
—Isabella Elias, The Conversation, 22 May 2026
Bloomberg, Fortune, 21 June 2026
An unpopular war, a structurally sound economy, but maybe GDP weakening, unemployment strong, but consumer confidence weakening.
—NBC news, 21 June 2026
On the other hand, the sun loses mass through stellar winds, weakening its gravitational grip and allowing planetary orbits to drift outward.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026
Critics, however, accused lawmakers of dehumanizing migrants and weakening core protections.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 20 June 2026
That may improve short-term efficiency while quietly weakening long-term leadership capacity.
—Jennie Glazer, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Arthur is then expected to turn inland over Louisiana before weakening.
—Michael Autovino, CBS News, 17 June 2026
Yet the extremist group has mobilized its members and media outlets to ramp up criticism of the agreement, heaping pressure on Iranian negotiators who have been attempting to extract concessions from a US administration intent on weakening – and possibly ending – the Islamic Republic.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 14 June 2026
By then, the storms should be weakening and are not expected to be severe.
—Kansas City Star, 12 June 2026
Noun
One of the most significant changes during Hill’s tenure was the weakening of structures designed to elevate teacher concerns to district leadership, Oreskovic said.
—Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 19 June 2026
Friday, a weakening ridge and an approaching front will allow scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop.
—Lauren Bostwick, CBS News, 9 June 2026
But the United States' retreat from the worldwide public health stage amid the outbreak in Africa and a worldwide measles outbreak has some experts concerned any weakening of public health makes the America susceptible to infectious diseases.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 6 June 2026
India’s economy has been under strain since the start of the Iran war, as energy supply disruptions have led to the weakening of the rupee against the dollar, and there are mounting concerns about slowing growth and rising inflation.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 4 June 2026
However, beginning in 1989, the weakening and eventual fall of the Soviet Union marked a return to energy insecurity, and electricity produced in Cuba fell by 25% by 1994.
—Luisa Blanco, Sun Sentinel, 2 June 2026
Protects against rot and water infiltration, reducing the risk of weakening, structural failure, and decay.
—Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 29 May 2026
Wall Street’s primary concern is competition from Anthropic and OpenAI weakening demand and pricing power for its customer relationship management software, which for years drove robust growth at high margins.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 27 May 2026
However, beginning in 1989, the weakening and eventual fall of the Soviet Union marked a return to energy insecurity, and electricity produced in Cuba fell by 25% by 1994.
—Isabella Elias, The Conversation, 22 May 2026
Verb
The hurricane-weakening effects of El Niño may be positive for property and casualty insurers in the Northern Hemisphere.
—Bloomberg, Fortune, 21 June 2026
An unpopular war, a structurally sound economy, but maybe GDP weakening, unemployment strong, but consumer confidence weakening.
—NBC news, 21 June 2026
On the other hand, the sun loses mass through stellar winds, weakening its gravitational grip and allowing planetary orbits to drift outward.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026
Critics, however, accused lawmakers of dehumanizing migrants and weakening core protections.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 20 June 2026
That may improve short-term efficiency while quietly weakening long-term leadership capacity.
—Jennie Glazer, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Arthur is then expected to turn inland over Louisiana before weakening.
—Michael Autovino, CBS News, 17 June 2026
Yet the extremist group has mobilized its members and media outlets to ramp up criticism of the agreement, heaping pressure on Iranian negotiators who have been attempting to extract concessions from a US administration intent on weakening – and possibly ending – the Islamic Republic.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 14 June 2026
By then, the storms should be weakening and are not expected to be severe.
—Kansas City Star, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weakening
Noun
-
Oslo University Hospital on June 5 said Mette-Marit had been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant after a significant deterioration in her health that likely gave her only a year left to live without the surgery.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
-
That moment revealed profound psychiatric deterioration and human suffering.—
Justyna Rzewinski,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Others are voluntarily asking to see more patients because the most draining and time-consuming parts of their job are now handled by AI.—
FJ Campbell,
Fortune,
20 May 2026
-
Already carrying wider spans of control and shrinking development support, a manager operating against an outdated role definition is doing something more draining than managing a heavy workload.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
To descend the stairs into Marcel, the new French-continental restaurant on the lower level of the Breuer building, on Madison Avenue, is to watch a brutalist masterpiece surrender, with a kind of gracious compliance, to the softening influence of a great deal of money.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
14 June 2026
-
Combined with higher interest rates on pause (and the potential for them to be hiked higher later this year), softening wages and household debt at a record high, this week's news underscores the importance of storing your money in safe and profitable places.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Their self-cleaning nature means blooms drop naturally after fading, eliminating tedious deadheading.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 June 2026
-
Halsey and her fans’ outrage over an old album review is showing no signs of fading.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
22 June 2026
Verb
-
The potential pitfall of that is diluting Walker’s effectiveness at his primary position.—
Josh Kendall,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
-
The Supreme Court asked the lower court to look at its recent ruling in Louisiana, which weakened the Voting Rights Act — a law that previously placed sharp limits on states’ diluting the power of minority voters.—
Kaylah Jackson,
NBC news,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Parazaider had revealed his most debilitating condition in a statement on the group’s website 2021.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
17 June 2026
-
Such a statistic often provokes a familiar gamut of responses from those who read it, from shock, disgust and anger to a debilitating sense of helplessness.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Instead of wasting time worrying about the perfect sides to prepare with your summery main dishes, whip up one of these one-and-done dinners—no sides required!—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
21 June 2026
-
There are now five-second countdowns for goal kicks and throw-ins to stop time-wasting.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
21 June 2026
Verb
-
Teachers use it as a behavioral bargaining chip, administrators weigh playtime against sagging test scores and researchers argue over how best to structure the minutes.—
Cierra Morgan,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
More often, though, Griffin talks about American debt, competitiveness, and sagging productivity.—
Gary Sernovitz,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Weakening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weakening. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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