What's the difference between powerless and weak?

Powerless


Definition:

  • (a.) Destitute of power, force, or energy; weak; impotent; not able to produce any effect.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Hypnosis might be looked upon as a method by which an unscrupulous person could sustain such a state of powerlessness in a victim.
  • (2) Twenty drug-free patients (12 women and 8 men) meeting DSM-III criteria for major depressive disorder were given the Kobasa Hardiness Questionnaire, which contains subscales measuring feelings of powerlessness, security, and alientation.
  • (3) The Dane was powerless, however, when Sturridge returned the favour and Mané doubled Liverpool’s lead in thrilling fashion.
  • (4) Worst of all they are a sop to those who think censorship is the answer to powerlessness.
  • (5) It was predicted that social anomie could be translated into behavioral (attempted suicide) and attitudinal (normlessness and powerlessness) determinants when viewed with regard to its impact upon the family.
  • (6) Two groups, one institutionalized and the other noninstitutionalized but without formal activities, were described as being disengaged: e.g., withdrawn socially, self-absorbed, as well as powerless, pessimistic, and depressed.
  • (7) And it should not be at the cost of local powerless people.
  • (8) Yet despite this, the mantra is that there is significant waste to cut – a mantra not just coming from policymakers remote from action, but from staff within the NHS who can see it for themselves every day yet feel powerless to do anything.
  • (9) It was hypothesized that incarcerated adolescents would have significantly higher levels of isolation, normlessness, powerlessness, and total alienation than would nonincarcerated adolescents.
  • (10) Stories poured in, full of anger, guilt, powerlessness and loss, ones of encouragement, optimism and advice, and they are still coming.
  • (11) The one-cell mouse embryo bioassay was utilized to test the embryotoxicity of three brands of powerless surgical gloves; Pristine, Ansell, and BioGel.
  • (12) Physical and psychological barriers left them significantly disadvantaged, politically powerless, and without legal recourse in matters of discrimination.
  • (13) The training program, therefore, included both educational and structural solutions for the problems of powerlessness experienced by nurses in the hospital setting.
  • (14) "We would like to propose to the Russian side that before issuing ultimatums to a sovereign and independent state, it turn its attention to the disastrous conditions and complete powerlessness of its own national minorities, including the Ukrainian one," read the statement.
  • (15) Thus, the same tribunal that regularly consigns ordinary, powerless Americans to prison for decades for even trivial offenses yet again acts to protect the most powerful actors from any consequences for serious crimes: that is the US justice system in a nutshell.
  • (16) Attention is drawn to the difficulties for students of fitting into new settings and trying out change, to the detrimental effect on learning of rigid practice routines and to the powerlessness of community practice teachers to exert a major influence on the learning environment.
  • (17) But Cameron was so powerless he could not launch missiles against Syria as he had been planning to do.
  • (18) This might include experiences of abuse, trauma, inequality, powerlessness and so on, but it can also include the immediate reactions of the people around you.
  • (19) And yet I have also seen the sense of powerlessness and frustration that comes when people have to deal with services which are unresponsive or which let them down."
  • (20) The purpose of this study was to describe the frequency and characteristics of the nursing diagnosis, powerlessness, in an acute spinal cord injury (SCI) population.

Weak


Definition:

  • (v. i.) Wanting physical strength.
  • (v. i.) Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm; sickly; debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted.
  • (v. i.) Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain; as, a weak timber; a weak rope.
  • (v. i.) Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or separated into pieces; not compact; as, a weak ship.
  • (v. i.) Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as, the weak stalk of a plant.
  • (v. i.) Not able to resist external force or onset; easily subdued or overcome; as, a weak barrier; as, a weak fortress.
  • (v. i.) Lacking force of utterance or sound; not sonorous; low; small; feeble; faint.
  • (v. i.) 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.
  • (v. i.) Lacking ability for an appropriate function or office; as, weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak magistrate; a weak regiment, or army.
  • (v. i.) Not possessing or manifesting intellectual, logical, moral, or political strength, vigor, etc.
  • (v. i.) Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking vigor; spiritless; as, a weak king or magistrate.
  • (v. i.) Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
  • (v. i.) Not having full confidence or conviction; not decided or confirmed; vacillating; wavering.
  • (v. i.) Not able to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable; as, weak resolutions; weak virtue.
  • (v. i.) Wanting in power to influence or bind; as, weak ties; a weak sense of honor of duty.
  • (v. i.) Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained; as, a weak argument or case.
  • (v. i.) Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as, a weak sentence; a weak style.
  • (v. i.) Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble.
  • (v. i.) 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.
  • (v. i.) Tending towards lower prices; as, a weak market.
  • (v. i.) 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 (a).
  • (v. i.) Pertaining to, or designating, a noun in Anglo-Saxon, etc., the stem of which ends in -n. See Strong, 19 (b).
  • (a.) To make or become weak; to weaken.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) There was a weak relation between AER and both systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
  • (2) Muscle weakness and atrophy were most marked in the distal parts of the legs, especially in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, and then spread to the thighs and gluteal muscles.
  • (3) Consensual but rationally weak criteria devised to extract inferences of causality from such results confirm the generic inadequacy of epidemiology in this area, and are unable to provide definitive scientific support to the perceived mandate for public health action.
  • (4) The strengths and weaknesses of each technique are described in this article.
  • (5) In group V, five cases of Taenia saginata parasitosis were studied showing a weak positive reading.
  • (6) Although the longest period required for resolving weakness was three days, the MRI, the CT and the electroencephalogram revealed no significant abnormality.
  • (7) Her muscle weakness and hyperCKemia markedly improved by corticosteroid therapy, suggesting that the diagnosis was compatible with polymyositis (PM).
  • (8) It was concluded that Ta acts as a weak zeitgeber in laboratory rats and has greater effects on males compared to females.
  • (9) And adding to this toxic mix, was the fear that the hung parliament would lead to a weak government.
  • (10) Sensory loss, motor weakness, paraesthesia and a new pain were found as complications in 12, 7, 4 and 6 patients, respectively.
  • (11) Here's Dominic's full story: US unemployment rate drops to lowest level in six years as 288,000 jobs added Michael McKee (@mckonomy) BNP economists say jobless rate would have been 6.8% if not for drop in participation rate May 2, 2014 2.20pm BST ING's Rob Carnell is also struck by the "extraordinary weakness" of US wage growth .
  • (12) In general, enzyme activity was strongly reduced by heavy metal inorganic cations; less strongly by organometallic cations, some anions, and certain pesticides; and weakly inhibited by light metal cations and organometallic and organic compounds.
  • (13) The weakness was treated by intensive physical rehabilitation with complete and sustained recovery in all cases.
  • (14) It also showed weak inhibition of the solid type of Ehrlich carcinoma and prolonged the survival period of mice inoculated with L-1210 cells.
  • (15) Exposure to whole cigarette smoke from reference cigarettes results in the prompt (peak activity is 6 hrs), but fairly weak (similar to 2 fold), induction of murine pulmonary microsomal monooxygenase activity.
  • (16) Though the concept of phase, known also as focus, is a very helpful notion, its empirical foundation is yet very weak.
  • (17) DL 071 IT, a new potent non-selective beta-adrenergic blocking drug with intrinsic sympathomimetic activity and weak membrane stabilizing activity, was evaluated alone and in comparison with oxprenolol, in six volunteers, at rest and during an exercise test.
  • (18) A variety of weak acids at and below their pK(a) are potent inhibitors of transport in Penicillium chrysogenum.
  • (19) It added that the crisis had highlighted significant weaknesses in financial regulation, with further measures needed to strengthen supervision.
  • (20) The radioprotective action in E. coli ATCC 9637 of ascorbate added to media containing the weak sensitizer, tetracycline (effect described by Pittillo and Lucas (1967)), was found to be dependent on the presence of metal catalysts of the autoxidation of ascorbate.