weaken
weaken — 動詞
1. to lose physical strength, power, influence, effectiveness, or determination; or
削弱；減弱
力量或效力變小；使失去力量或效力
to lose physical strength, power, influence, effectiveness, or determination; or to cause someone or something to lose these qualities.
The flu left Minhô feeling tired and weakened his immune system for weeks.
流感讓 Minhô 感到疲倦，並且削弱了他的免疫系統好幾個星期。
transitive use: weaken + noun phrase (body/system)
Heavy rain weakened the old dam, so the engineers had to reinforce it quickly.
大雨沖刷使舊水壩的結構減弱，工程師必須趕緊加固它。
transitive, cause + effect structure with physical object
A company's financial problems can weaken its ability to compete in overseas markets.
一家公司的財務問題可能會削弱其在海外市場的競爭能力。
Eli's argument weakened when Tuan pointed out a mistake in the data he had used.
Eli 的論點變得薄弱，因為 Tuan 指出他使用的資料中有個錯誤。
Shirin's confidence often weakens before important job interviews, leaving her nervous.
Shirin 的自信心在重要工作面試前經常減弱，讓她緊張不已。
- undermine
suggests gradual, often hidden damage to someone's position, authority, or confidence
- erode
emphasises a slow, continuous wearing away, like the erosion of trust or value
- diminish
focuses on reduction in size, importance, or intensity, often less dramatic than weaken
- debilitate
more formal and stronger; means to make very weak, especially physically or medically
- strengthen
direct opposite: to make or become stronger
- reinforce
to add extra strength or support to something, often physically or structurally
文法句型
weaken + noun phrase (transitive)
weaken (intransitive, no object)
用法筆記
Frequently used in both active and passive voice. The transitive pattern (weaken + object) is common for physical or structural subjects; the intransitive pattern (subject + weaken) is common for abstract subjects such as confidence, resolve, or arguments.