noun · neutral
weakness
/ˈwiːknəs/WEAK·ness
Band 5-6speakingtask2
the state of being weak, or a particular fault or lack of ability
Examples
“One of the company's weaknesses is slow decision-making.”
“After the illness, he felt a general weakness in his legs.”
“We all have weaknesses, but acknowledging them is the first step to improvement.”
Band 8 sentence
“A thorough self-review should list both strengths and weaknesses with concrete examples and evidence.”
Collocations
- have a weakness for
- show weaknesses
- major/minor weakness
Word family
weak adjectiveweaken verbweakness noun
Common mistakes
He is weakness in maths.→He is weak in maths.
a little weakness→a slight weakness
Say it for a higher band
5problem→6fault→7+weakness
Synonyms
flaw
frailty
Easily confused
flaw
“The main flaw in his argument was a lack of reliable evidence.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ness
Learn it with its set