verb · neutral
weaken
/ˈwiːkən/WEA·ken
Band 5-6speakingtask2
to make something less strong or less effective
Examples
“Corruption can weaken public trust in institutions.”
“A lack of evidence will weaken your argument.”
“His illness gradually weakened him.”
Band 8 sentence
“Prolonged funding cuts will inevitably weaken public services and reduce quality of care.”
Collocations
- weaken the case/argument
- weaken confidence/trust
Word family
weaken verbweakens verb (3rd sg)weakening verb / noun (gerund)weakened verb (past / past participle)
Common mistakes
make weaker the argument→weaken the argument
weaking the trust→weakening the trust
Say it for a higher band
5make sth weaker→6reduce→7+weaken
Synonyms
undermine
dilute
Easily confused
undermine
“Excessive criticism can undermine a student's confidence.”
Related words
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In -en
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