weakly
/ˈwiːkli/adjective, adverb
weakly is spelled W-E-A-K-L-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, weakly means “Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution; weak” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in weakly?
| Letters | 6: W-E-A-K-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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).
How common is weakly?
Weakly appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd 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 weakly?
- /ˈwiːkli/
Weakly 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)-Sapaa-weakly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with weakly
Sounds like: weekly (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of weakly
- weaklier comparative
- weakliest superlative
- more weakly comparative
- most weakly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does weakly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution; weak.
adverb
- 1
With little strength or force.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Weakly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense with little strength or force:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | faiblement |
| Portuguese | debilmente |
| Spanish | débilmente, caducamente |
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 weakly come from?
From Old English wāclīċe (“weakly”), equivalent to weak + -ly (adjectival suffix); compare Old English wāclīċ (“weak; ignoble; mean”), and Old Norse veikligr (“weakly; sick”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkaz (“weakly; weak”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).