weakening

1. 1.

   becoming weaker

   Antonymsstrengthening

   Broadertransformation

   Narrowerdebilitationatrophyattenuationfallrelaxation
2. 2.

   the act of reducing the strength of something

   Antonymsstrengthening

   Broaderdecrease

   Narrowerwiltdilutionetiolation

1. 1.

   causing debilitation

   Synonymsdebilitativeenervatingenfeebling

   Similardebilitating
2. 2.

   moderating by making pain or sorrow weaker

   Similarmoderating

Other forms of weakening

plural

weakenings·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about weakening

What does weakening mean?

weakening means "becoming weaker". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in weakening?

weakening has 3 syllables: wea-ke-ning. The stress falls on "wea". In IPA it is /ˈwikənɪŋ/.

What is another word for weakening?

Close synonyms include debilitative, enervating, enfeebling. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of weakening?

The recorded antonyms are strengthening, strengthening.

Is weakening a common word?

weakening is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.