weak-headedadj.
/ˌwiːkˈhɛdᵻd/, U.S. /ˌwikˈhɛdəd/ 1. Lacking strength of mind or purpose.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] > weak in character or will
nesheOE
feeblec1200
softc1275
weaka1425
infirm1526
lithya1533
unheaded1577
spiritless1595
pappy1597
irresolute1600
marrowless1607
seducible1613
wax-nosedc1615
unsinewy?1623
reedy1628
swayable1642
short-spirited1647
weak-headed1654
lath-backed1676
will-less?1680
tiffany-trader1702
weak-minded1716
lax1751
lax-fibred1762
nerveless1783
wishy-washy1801
marcid1822
molluscous1836
boneless1848
weedy1849
putty-headed1857
flabby1862
weak-kneed1863
fibreless1864
invertebrate1867
chinless1881
backboneless1882
featherweight1885
spineless1885
weak-willed1885
totter-kneed1887
akratic1896
effete1905
weakling1906
gutless1915
willowish1919
Milquetoast1932
nannified1960
ball-less1967
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. ix. 235 Others of their sisternity (very weak headed women, frail vessels) carried not matters so well.
1705 D. Defoe Consolidator in Wks. (1840) IX. 387 A weak-headed prince, who neither had a right to give his crown, nor a brain to know what he was doing.
1889 Labouchere in Daily News 20 Feb. 3/2 A more weak-kneed, weak-headed lot of men could not be conceived.
1908 W. W. Jacobs Salthaven xiii That weak-headed Cecilia Willett believes him.
2. Easily overcome by strong liquor.
Derivatives
ˈweak-ˈheadedness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] > drunkenness > state of becoming drunk easily
weak-headedness1894
1894 Ld. Dufferin in Lady Dufferin's Poems & Verses 15 footnote In contrast to Sheridan's weak-headedness, I may cite the instance of my paternal grandfather... He would occasionally begin a convivial evening with what he called a ‘clearer’, i.e., a bottle of port [etc.].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
adj.1654