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Medical Definition of Hyposthenic
1.
1. Wanting physical strength. Specifically:
Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm; sickly; debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted. "A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man." (Shak) "Weak with hunger, mad with love." (Dryden)
Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain; as, a weak timber; a weak rope.
Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or separated into pieces; not compact; as, a weak ship.
Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as, the weak stalk of a plant.
Not able to resist external force or onset; easily subdued or overcome; as, a weak barrier; as, a weak fortress.
Lacking force of utterance or sound; not sonorous; low; small; feeble; faint. "A voice not soft, weak, piping, and womanish." (Ascham)
Not thoroughly or abundantly impregnated with the usual or required ingredients, or with stimulating and nourishing substances; of less than the usual strength; as, weak tea, broth, or liquor; a weak decoction or solution; a weak dose of medicine.
Lacking ability for an appropriate function or office; as, weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak magistrate; a weak regiment, or army.
2. Not possessing or manifesting intellectual, logical, moral, or political strength, vigor, etc. Specifically: Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking vigor; spiritless; as, a weak king or magistrate. "To think every thing disputable is a proof of a weak mind and captious temper." (Beattie) "Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there were two Gods." (Waterland)
Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish. "If evil thence ensue, She first his weak indulgence will accuse." (Milton)
Not having full confidence or conviction; not decided or confirmed; vacillating; wavering. "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations." (Rom. Xiv. 1)
Not able to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable; as, weak resolutions; weak virtue. "Guard thy heart On this weak side, where most our nature fails." (Addison)
Wanting in power to influence or bind; as, weak ties; a weak sense of honor of duty.
Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained; as, a weak argument or case. "Convinced of his weak arguing." "A case so weak . . . Hath much persisted in." (Hooker)
Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as, a weak sentence; a weak style.
Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble. "Weak prayers."
Lacking in elements of political strength; not wielding or having authority or energy; deficient in the resources that are essential to a ruler or nation; as, a weak monarch; a weak government or state. "I must make fair weather yet awhile, Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong." (Shak) Tending towards lower prices; as, a weak market.
3. Pertaining to, or designating, a verb which forms its preterit (imperfect) and past participle by adding to the present the suffix -ed, -d, or the variant form -t; as in the verbs abash, abashed; abate, abated; deny, denied; feel, felt. See Strong, 19 . Pertaining to, or designating, a noun in Anglo-Saxon, etc, the stem of which ends in -n. See Strong, 19 .
Weak is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, weak-eyed, weak-handed, weak-hearted, weak-minded, weak-spirited, and the like.
Lexicographical Neighbors of Hyposthenic
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