noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a fundamental weakness (=fault)
▪ She points out the fundamental weaknesses in his argument.
exposes...weaknesses
▪ The report exposes the weaknesses of modern medical practice.
strengths and weaknesses
▪ All technologies have different strengths and weaknesses.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
economic
▪ The political weakness of the commoners corresponded to their economic weakness.
▪ But the peasantry as a whole remained in a condition of extreme economic weakness.
▪ It was conscious of Britain's economic weaknesses and the public's desire to concentrate on domestic problems.
▪ Our low level of investment in science and technology is an indicator of our relative economic weakness.
fundamental
▪ Behind these passing issues, however, lies a more fundamental weakness special to Britain.
▪ This pinpoints a fundamental weakness in the libertarian defence of a market economy.
▪ As the 1960s rolled on, fundamental weaknesses of the system were revealed, centring on the contradictory role of the dollar.
▪ It is that position of fundamental weakness and poverty that forces them to apply for the Government's student loans.
great
▪ That is the strength of science, and its greatest weakness.
▪ For the great weakness of feudal jurisdiction lay in its lack of muscle to enforce the appearance of both parties in court.
▪ However, herein lies the Army's greatest weakness in the bargaining process.
▪ I do try to keep away from fattening foods, but my greatest weakness is chocolate cake.
▪ It was also, as we shall see later, to prove to be one of its greatest weaknesses.
▪ I have a great weakness for fresh herbs and love the scent of basil and tarragon.
▪ Profuse, clammy sweat; great weakness even to collapse.
▪ It's his greatest weakness as a counsellor.
human
▪ Prejudice is another human weakness, and like our emotions does not disappear at conversion.
▪ To make love to a girl-a student. Human physical weakness stronger than the mind.
▪ Here is a Messiah who by becoming one of us knows all about human weakness, about human life and development.
▪ Anyone who worked with him recognised his uncanny ability to find something oddly heroic in all the manifestations of human weakness.
▪ They are climbing to deny human weakness.
▪ As Quigley, the entrepreneurial fixer, he brought warmth and an understanding of human weakness to the character.
▪ Like all criminal gangs, Famlio specializes in profiting from human weaknesses such as pleasure, greed and fear.
inherent
▪ One of the inherent weaknesses of the modern squad system is that a close-knit clique becomes impervious to failure and criticism.
▪ The military had placed the island city in the best possible defense posture, considering the inherent weakness of its geographic position.
▪ These are inherent weaknesses that are best exploited only indirectly, lest criticism backfire.
main
▪ The main weakness of these republican reforms was that they threatened fundamental change but didn't fully implement it.
▪ Perhaps the main weakness in the text, which accounts for a number of others, is the methodology employed.
▪ The main area of weakness lies in the political arena.
▪ But Carter's main weakness lay in dealing with Congress.
major
▪ This survey points to two major weaknesses in the Solihull voluntary scheme.
▪ Discuss its major weakness. 6.
▪ There are two major weaknesses in biosensors.
▪ One of the major weaknesses is, perhaps, a lack of sufficient follow-up on the recommendations.
▪ That government has shown two major weaknesses: its failure to understand either the struggle or the indigenous mentality.
▪ The other major weakness of the proposals is that they do not properly identify the nature of the problem.
▪ The staple elements in the ordinary revenue revealed some major points of weakness.
▪ This section attempts to identify the major strengths and weaknesses of these two systems.
physical
▪ But these women also employed medical definitions of physical and mental weakness as an effective tactical weapon in the battle with men.
▪ Human physical weakness stronger than the mind.
▪ Even to being impulsive, an uncontrolled state of irritability; it is a weakness and is accompanied by physical weakness.
▪ Darwinism showed that extinction was the result of physical weakness or unfitness for purpose.
▪ Both May and Bert are determined not to give in to their physical weaknesses.
▪ Then his weaknesses - alcohol, drugs, any physical weakness such as being a diabetic.
▪ In spite of his physical weakness Harry was busy.
▪ Moreover, because of their physical and mental weakness women were clearly incapable of qualifying as doctors themselves.
political
▪ The political weakness of the commoners corresponded to their economic weakness.
▪ Alarcon effectively turned his political weakness into political strength, analysts say.
▪ But hysteric she was, subject to the fatal political weakness of collapsing in time of trouble.
▪ What motivated Louis was neither political weakness nor a suddenly-discovered conscience.
relative
▪ This relative weakness centred on manufacturing industry.
▪ The problem ultimately lies in the relative weakness of the Third World economy in the world capitalist system.
▪ Page description languages are currently a hot topic with much being written about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various offerings.
▪ Our low level of investment in science and technology is an indicator of our relative economic weakness.
serious
▪ We saw that this theory has serious weaknesses in terms of lacking supporting evidence and analytical strength.
▪ Aside from its dubious cultural charm, there are serious structural weaknesses which may one day embarrass us.
▪ This is a serious weakness in an approach intended to aid understanding of religion.
▪ This is a serious weakness for causal analysis using any of these explanatory approaches.
▪ Both of these points of view have serious weaknesses, but in fact the one-phoneme analysis is generally chosen by phonologists.
▪ This highlights a serious weakness in his philosophy.
▪ The only serious weakness is the radio system.
▪ The 1740 invasion scare revealed some serious weaknesses in the nation's defences.
structural
▪ Aside from its dubious cultural charm, there are serious structural weaknesses which may one day embarrass us.
■ NOUN
muscle
▪ There is often associated muscle weakness and sometimes heart problems can occur.
▪ There may also be numbness or muscle weakness occurring in a segmental pattern.
▪ Low vitamin D also is associated with muscle weakness, which could contribute to a fall.
▪ Watch for asymmetry of eyelid blinking or evidence of lower facial muscle weakness.
▪ But the loss of motor strip tends to produce muscle weakness and, if the damage is extensive enough, paralysis.
■ VERB
exploit
▪ Our sinister cop is able to exploit that weakness by offering a sympathetic ear.
▪ This short-term outlook enables them to exploit the weakness of their customers without worrying about the long-term effects on customer relations.
▪ Successive governments have exploited our weakness for anything tax-free with a series of investment schemes.
expose
▪ They exposed strengths and weaknesses they didn't know were theirs.
▪ College had exposed weaknesses they had been able to ignore in the past.
▪ Her decision has left Congress headless and embarrassed at having exposed its weakness.
▪ The Rush die scandal has exposed the weaknesses of any benign multiculturalism premised on the assumption of easy harmony and pluralism.
▪ In addition, Joanne felt that the new approach exposed her weaknesses as a teacher.
highlight
▪ The effect has been to highlight weaknesses in each of the traditional interpretations and to demythologize the revolutionary intelligentsia.
▪ He told the Institute of Chartered Accountants that recent failures had highlighted weaknesses in accounts.
▪ This highlights a serious weakness in his philosophy.
▪ Here, however, Wallas highlighted a particular weakness within Fabianism.
identify
▪ From this the person is expected to identify strengths and weaknesses in performance and then put forward proposals for change.
▪ If this is to identify a Warwickshire weakness, it must be said that the 1991 season exceeded all predictions.
▪ To examine the experience of care in the community for Down's Syndrome adults in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses.
▪ It can identify weaknesses in systems and procedures.
▪ Consumers are rightly suspicious of companies' motives and will quickly identify any weaknesses of the campaign.
overcome
▪ And please help me too, Lord, to begin to overcome my weaknesses in this area of conflict with others.
▪ Such a child also needs help in learning to use her strengths as an ally in overcoming her vulnerabilities or weaknesses.
reveal
▪ They have also revealed weaknesses within the current education systems.
▪ Railtrack later revealed that weaknesses had been identified in the section of track 10 months ago.
▪ Variances may often reveal weaknesses in control systems which should be rectified.
▪ This theme too reveals both strengths and weaknesses in his interpretation of religion.
▪ Time will no doubt reveal more of his weaknesses galore.
show
▪ Both are today showing signs of weakness, but they are still far short of the east-coast mess.
▪ It had long shown signs of weakness.
▪ He could not speak and he would not make any gesture that would show weakness.
▪ This shows the weakness of your heart.
▪ That government has shown two major weaknesses: its failure to understand either the struggle or the indigenous mentality.
▪ But I dared not cry nor show any sign of weakness.
▪ The forces of Chaos fought on showing neither weakness nor mercy.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
moment of madness/weakness/panic etc
▪ He caught me in a moment of weakness.
▪ I had a moment of panic.
▪ In a moment of madness Rosenoir kicked Alan Kernaghan as he lay on the ground.
▪ In a moment of weakness the President had accepted the invitation.
▪ It was a moment of madness.
▪ She rang the doorbell, listened to the silence within and felt a moment of panic.
▪ What mattered was that one of the legs had been used by the gang in a moment of panic.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Frank's biggest weakness is his lack of tolerance.
▪ muscle weakness
▪ the weakness of the country's law-making body
▪ the weakness of the yen against the dollar
▪ The car has some serious structural weaknesses.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ By contrast, it is easier to confirm an academic skill weakness through the use of standardized achievement tests.
▪ In fact my whole being was permeated by the leaden-armed pervading weakness one feels when forced to work in the small hours.
▪ It is a rare disease characterized by progressive liver enlargement or cirrhosis and muscular weakness by the age of 2 months.
▪ Never love me for my weaknesses, he wanted to say.
▪ The weakness of these controls throws the spotlight on the Police Complaints Authority composed of lay persons.
▪ There are two major weaknesses in biosensors.
▪ Weinstein said he wants to maintain it as a national brand despite its weaknesses in the Midwest and South.