infirm

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Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈfɝm/

Adjective

infirm (comparative infirmer, superlative infirmest)

1. Weak or ill, not in good health.

   He was infirm of body but still keen of mind, and though it looked like he couldn't walk across the room, he crushed me in debate.

   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act III, Scene 2,

     […] Here I stand your slave,

     A poor, infirm, weak, and despis’d old man.

2. Irresolute; weak of mind or will.
   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act II, Scene 2,

     Infirm of purpose!

     Give me the daggers: […]

   • 1797, Edmund Burke, A Third Letter to a Member of the Present Parliament: On the Proposals for Peace with the Regicide Directory of France, London: F.&C. Rivington, p. 30,

     […] vehement passion does not always indicate an infirm judgment.

3. Frail; unstable; insecure.
   • 1667, Robert South, “The Practice of Religion Enforced by Reason” in Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, London: Thomas Bennet, p. 3,

     He who fixes upon false Principles, treads upon Infirm ground, and so sinks […]

Related terms

• infirmary

Translations

• French: infirme
• German: schwach, schwächlich, kränklich, gebrechlich, siech, kraftlos
• Russian: не́мощный
• Spanish: enfermizo, endeble

Translations

• German: unsicher
• Spanish: inseguro

Translations

• German: instabil
• Russian: неусто́йчивый

Verb

infirm (infirms, present participle infirming; past and past participle infirmed)

1. To contradict, to provide proof that something is not.

   The thought is that you see an episode of observation, experiment, or reasoning as confirming or infirming a hypothesis depending on whether your probability for it increases or decreases during the episode.

Synonyms

• disconfirm

Antonyms

• confirm

Translations

• French: infirmer

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