weaken
/ˈwikən/verb
weaken is spelled W-E-A-K-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, weaken means “To make weaker or less strong” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in weaken?
| Letters | 6: W-E-A-K-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.1 times per million words; the 15,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is weaken?
Weaken appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce weaken?
- US /ˈwikən/
Weaken has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-weaken.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with weaken?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as weaken from its last stressed vowel (/ikən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of weaken
- weakens present, singular, he/she/it
- weakening participle, present
- weakened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does weaken mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make weaker or less strong.
weaken a bond
- 2
To become weaker or less strong.
Over the years my enthusiasm for the job has weakened.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Weaken in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | affaiblir , s'affaiblir |
| German | schwächen, abschwächen , schwächeln |
| Portuguese | enfraquecer |
| Spanish | debilitar, languir , debilitarse, languecer, languidecer |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does weaken come from?
From weak + -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).