top definitions
related content
examples
british

weak-kneed

[ week-need ]

/ ˈwikˈnid /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR weak-kneed ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

yielding readily to opposition, pressure, intimidation, etc.

Origin of weak-kneed

First recorded in 1860–65

OTHER WORDS FROM weak-kneed

weak-kneed·ly, adverb weak-kneed·ness, noun

Words nearby weak-kneed

weak safety, weak sauce, weak side, weak sister, weak-headed, weak-kneed, weak-minded, weak-willed, weaken, weaker sex, weakest link

Example sentences from the Web for weak-kneed

These statements are neither radical nor weak-kneed, as Republican questions would lead you to believe.

Hagel’s Confirmation Hearings Contentious and Partisan |John Avlon |February 1, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
As these weak-kneed leaders came under pressure for their practices and products, they turned psychologically inward.

Lousy Marketing—Not Lousy Cars—Killed Detroit |Adam Hanft |November 24, 2008 |DAILY BEAST
The men who have lost faith in their own machinery should be told that no company can survive the effects of weak-kneed advocates.

Industrial Progress and Human Economics |James Hartness
If some weak-kneed marshals and sheriffs would do their duty, there would be less bootleggers.

Treading the Narrow Way |R. E. Barrett

The thought of it made her weak-kneed and sick, yet she tried to do the usual things in the usual way.

Nobody's Child |Elizabeth Dejeans
But his name does not carry confidence to those who do not know the man, for his family were weak-kneed gentry.

The Half-Hearted |John Buchan
Only a few vague, uncertain figures were now moving about, with a strangely unsteady gait, weak-kneed and simian.

Darkness and Dawn |George Allan England

British Dictionary definitions for weak-kneed

weak-kneed

adjective

informal yielding readily to force, persuasion, intimidation, etc

Derived forms of weak-kneed

weak-kneedly, adverb weak-kneedness, noun