Weakly

How to spell weakly

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce weakly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does weakly mean?

1. adverbIn a feeble manner; without strength or force.

Weakly in a sentence

• The patient gripped the rail weakly as the nurse helped him stand.

• He smiled weakly after the long illness drained his energy.

Where does weakly come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes from the native Old English roots of the language rather than from Latin or French. The base, weak, derives from the Old English wac, meaning 'pliant, soft, or feeble', which itself goes back to a Germanic source related to bending or giving way; the Old Norse veikr, with the same sense, reinforced the form during the period of Scandinavian settlement in England. The suffix -ly comes from the Old English -lic, originally meaning 'having the form or body of', the same element that lies behind 'like'. Joined together, weakly has long described doing something in a feeble manner or being constitutionally frail. The spelling trap is purely about sound: weakly is pronounced exactly like 'weekly', the adverb formed from 'week', so the only way to keep them apart in writing is to remember that this one carries the meaning of weak, not of a seven-day period.

How the word is built

• weak (lacking strength)
• -ly (adverb/adjective suffix)

Words that sound like weakly

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• weekly: Happening or produced once every week.