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How to spell weakness

Weakness is spelled W-E-A-K-N-E-S-S. The part people get wrong: double S.

hear itweak·ness/'wiknɪs/nounRules and real life

What it means: A flaw or area lacking strength.

In a sentence: The superhero's only weakness was a kitten's soft meow.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double s.

Same family: weaken, weakened, weakly, strength, vulnerability. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Weakness” comes from the Old Norse word “veikr,” meaning ‘pliant’ or ‘soft,’ plus the English suffix “-ness,” which turns adjectives into nouns. Over time it shifted to mean the state or quality of not being strong, either physically or in character.

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