infirmity

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A lasting weakness of body or mind, usually brought on by age or sickness.

   Grammar: Uncountable for the general state (old age and infirmity); countable for a particular ailment (an infirmity of the legs).

   Patterns

   • the infirmity of old age
   • suffer from an infirmity

   Despite his infirmity, my grandfather still walked to the market every morning.

   The home cares for residents whose infirmity makes living alone unsafe.

   She bore her many infirmities with quiet humor.

2. 2nouncountableliterary

   A flaw or failing in someone's character or resolve.

   Grammar: Often found in set phrases about human frailty: an infirmity of purpose.

   Patterns

   • an infirmity of something

   Indecision was the one infirmity of an otherwise capable leader.

   The play treats jealousy as a common infirmity of the human heart.

Word forms

Common combinations

the infirmity of old age

The infirmity of old age kept her mostly indoors.

physical infirmity

Physical infirmity forced him to retire early.

bodily infirmity

Bodily infirmity never dulled her sharp mind.

age and infirmity

The charity supports people struggling with age and infirmity.

suffer from infirmity

Many of the villagers suffered from infirmity after the hard winter.

Synonyms and how they differ

frailty

Frailty stresses how easily someone is hurt or tired, and it is also common in everyday speech, unlike the more formal infirmity.

illness

Illness names a specific sickness that may pass, whereas infirmity suggests a lasting weakness.

disability

Disability describes a condition that limits what a person can do, and is a neutral modern term, while infirmity sounds old-fashioned and focuses on weakness.

debility

Debility is a rarer, medical-sounding word for loss of strength, with less of the sense of lasting old age.

Opposites

Word family

infirm adjective

weak in body, especially because of age

infirmary noun

a place where sick people are treated

firm adjective

solid and steady, the root idea behind the opposite

Commonly confused: infirmity or infirmary?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “infirmity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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