noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English waikenes, weikenes, from waike, weike weak + -nes -ness
1. : the quality or state of being weak : want of strength : lack of vigor
it was a month after his illness before he recovered from his weakness
also : an instance or a period of feebleness or vacillation
agreed in a moment of weakness to become chairman
2. : something that is a mark of lack of strength or resolution : fault , defect
admitting frankly the possession of vices and weaknesses that all of us have and few of us care to acknowledge — H.L.Mencken
3. : an object of special desire, concern, or fondness
weakness for salted peanuts
the thirteenth century had a weakness for the word speculum — H.O.Taylor