Weak vs Lean - What's the difference?
weak | lean | Related terms |
Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
* Shakespeare
* Dryden
Unable to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain.
Unable to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable.
* Joseph Addison, The Fair Petinent Act I, scene I:
Dilute, lacking in taste or potency.
*
, title=The Mirror and the Lamp
, chapter=2 (grammar) Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:
# (Germanic languages, of verbs) Regular in inflection, lacking vowel changes and having a past tense with -d- or -t-.
# (Germanic languages, of nouns) Showing less distinct grammatical endings.
# (Germanic languages, of adjectives) Definite in meaning, often used with a definite article or similar word.
(physics) One of the four fundamental forces associated with nuclear decay.
(slang) Bad or uncool.
(mathematics, logic) Having a narrow range of logical consequences; narrowly applicable. (Often contrasted with a statement which implies it.)
Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
* Milton
Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained.
* Milton
Lacking in vigour or expression.
Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble.
* Shakespeare
(stock exchange) Tending towards lower prices.
To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; with to'', ''toward , etc.
* (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
To rest or rely, for support, comfort, etc.; with on'', ''upon'', or ''against .
* (1809-1892)
* , chapter=23
, title= To hang outwards.
To press against.
* (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
(of a person or animal) slim; not fleshy.
(of meat) having little fat.
Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.
Of a fuel-air mixture, having more air than is necessary to burn all of the fuel; more air- or oxygen- rich than necessary for a stoichiometric reaction.
(printing, archaic) Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; opposed to fat.
To thin out (a fuel-air mixture): to reduce the fuel flow into the mixture so that there is more air or oxygen.
* {{quote-magazine
, year=1938
, month=July
, author=Blaine and Dupont Miller
, title=Weather Hop
, page=25
, magazine=Boy's Life
, publisher=Boy Scouts of America
, issn=0006-8608
* {{quote-magazine
, year=2002
, month=July
, author=Tom Benenson
, title=Can Your Engine Run Too Lean?
, volume=129
, issue=7
, page=73
, magazine=Flying
, issn=0015-4806
As adjectives the difference between weak and lean
is that weak is lacking in force (usually strength) or ability while lean is slim; not fleshy.As a verb lean is
to incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.weak
English
Adjective
(er)- a poor, infirm, weak , and despised old man
- weak with hunger, mad with love
- a weak''' timber; a '''weak rope
- weak''' resolutions; '''weak virtue
- Guard thy heart / On this weak side, where most our nature fails.
citation, passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.}}
- If evil thence ensue, / She first his weak indulgence will accuse.
- The prosecution advanced a weak case.
- convinced of his weak arguing
- a weak''' sentence; a '''weak style
- weak prayers
- a weak market
Synonyms
* (lacking in force or ability) feeble, frail, powerless, vincible, assailable ,vulnerable * (lacking in taste or potency) dilute, watery * See alsoAntonyms
* (lacking in force or ability) healthy, powerful, robust, strong, invincible * (lacking in taste or potency) potent, robust, strongDerived terms
* weaken * weakling * weakness * weak sisterAnagrams
* 1000 English basic words ----lean
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) ; via Proto-Indo-European with climate, cline.Verb
- They delight rather to lean to their old customs.
- He leaned not on his fathers but himself.
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.}}
- His fainting limbs against an oak he leant .
Derived terms
* lean back * leaning * lean on * lean-toEtymology 2
From (etyl) .Adjective
(er)- a lean''' budget; a '''lean harvest
- lean copy, matter, or type
Synonyms
* See alsoVerb
(en verb)citation, passage=He leaned the mixture in an effort to cause a backfire through the carburetor, the generally accepted method of breaking the ice loose. }}
citation, passage=Even the Pilot's Operating Handbooks (POH) for our training airplanes add to our paranoia with their insistence that we not lean the mixture until we're above 5000 feet density altitude. }}