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Glite Dictionary
😨 Lacking courage 🦵 Physically shaky
weak-kneed

weak-kneed

7.0
Feeling weak and unsteady after strong feelings or hard physical work
  • adjective
  • /ˈwiːkˌniːd/
  • Informal
: débil
  • The emotional scene in the movie left many viewers weak-kneed and touched.

Examples

  • As he climbed out, feeling slightly weak-kneed, Prynne said to him, "Well, what do you think now?" Sealock stood facing him.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • After hearing the unexpected news, he stood there feeling weak-kneed and unsure of how to react.

  • "Songs like Oh, Lovely Moon and The Barcarolle leave me quite weak-kneed.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • She was so nervous about the presentation that she felt weak-kneed as she stepped onto the stage.

Synonyms

shaky
vsweak-kneed
59 2.1

Not steady and trembling, often from fear, cold, or tiredness

feels weak and unsteady especially from strong emotion or nervousness
faint
vsweak-kneed
38 2.7

Feeling weak and about to lose consciousness

is milder unsteadiness from emotion rather than near loss of consciousness
trembling
vsweak-kneed
1 2.6

Shaking slightly because you feel afraid, cold, or weak

feels weak and unsteady mainly from strong emotion

Antonyms

strong
∞ 1.0

Having great physical power or being solid enough to resist force

to steady
41 3.4

To make yourself or something stop moving

How Steady

to steady
41 3.4
weak-kneed
  • Informal
7.0
shaky
59 2.1
wobbly
36 3.6

Surface Forms

weak-kneed positive

Morphology

weak-kneed = weak + kneed (transparent) = weak + knee + ed

The word straightforwardly combines 'weak' and 'kneed' (knee + -ed) to mean 'having weak knees' in a physical sense.

Etymology

Weak-kneed comes from the literal feeling of having 'weak' knees after a strong emotion or hard effort, with the parts weak and knee giving a clear body image. So, it describes feeling physically unsteady or shaky.