{
    "term": "weakness",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "lack of physical strength",
            "sensetop": "weakness in something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The disease causes progressive muscle weakness."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The sudden weakness in her legs made her stumble.",
                    "contextForm": "weakness in something"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["big", "fundamental", "great"],
                "verb + weakness": ["have", "suffer from", "cause"],
                "weakness + verb": ["be", "lie"],
                "preposition": ["weakness in"],
                "phrases": [
                    "a moment of weakness",
                    "a sign of weakness",
                    "strengths and weaknesses"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "lack of power, influence or strength of character",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He thought that crying was a **sign of weakness**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Asking for help would be an admission of weakness."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the underlying weakness of the coalition's position"
                },
                {
                    "text": "In a **moment of weakness ***(= when I was easily persuaded)* I let him drive my car."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He saw compromise as a sign of weakness."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a position of relative weakness"
                },
                {
                    "text": "humanity's moral weakness and capacity for evil"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We are all subject to some form of human weakness."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "a weak point in a system, somebody’s character, etc.",
            "sensetop": "weakness in something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It's important to know your own **strengths and weaknesses**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to expose/reveal/identify/highlight a weakness"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The prime minister can exploit these weaknesses to her advantage."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A weakness of this approach was that contact with participants was minimal."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Can you spot the weakness in her argument?",
                    "contextForm": "weakness in something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "There are a number of weaknesses in this approach."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We all have our weaknesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Try to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of your work."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You need to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Young recruits were urged to overcome their own innate weaknesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The fundamental weakness of the organization is its lack of effective communication."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She admits that her love of luxury is one of her greatest weaknesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Certain structural weaknesses have to be overcome before the economy can recover."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the primary methodological weakness of this study"
                },
                {
                    "text": "business leaders who refuse to admit their weaknesses"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They know their strengths and weaknesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The team doesn't have any glaring weaknesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The management had to address specific weaknesses in training."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The criminals exploit apparent weaknesses in the system."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She didn't seem to have any obvious weaknesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The appraisal system seeks to assess employees' strengths and weaknesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Service conditions soon revealed the inherent weaknesses in the vehicle's design."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Make companies aware of potential weaknesses so they know what steps to take."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The greatest weakness of the plan lies in its lack of government support."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a fatal weakness in his theory"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["big", "fundamental", "great"],
                "verb + weakness": ["have", "suffer from", "cause"],
                "weakness + verb": ["be", "lie"],
                "preposition": ["weakness in"],
                "phrases": [
                    "a moment of weakness",
                    "a sign of weakness",
                    "strengths and weaknesses"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "how weak a country's currency is in relation to other countries' currencies",
            "sensetop": "weakness (of something) (against something)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "the weakness of the dollar against the pound"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "difficulty in resisting something/somebody that you like very much",
            "sensetop": "weakness (for something/somebody)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He has a weakness for chocolate."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He worries a lot about his weight, but can't overcome his weakness for fatty foods."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I have a real weakness for chocolate."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["real"],
                "verb + weakness": ["have", "develop", "overcome"],
                "preposition": ["weakness for"]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwiːknəs/",
                "audio": "we/weakness/weakness__gb_2.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwiːknəs/",
                "audio": "we/weakness/weakness__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": null
}