weak-minded

From weak +‎ minded. Probably related to weak (“mentally or intellectually deficient”).

weak-minded

1. Having or exhibiting a mind that lacks steadfastness, resoluteness or especially judgment; not strong-minded.
   • 1983 May 25, 23:15 from the start, in Return of the Jedi (Star Wars)‎, episode VI (Science Fiction), Lucasfilm Ltd., →OCLC:

     Jabba the Hutt: I told you not to admit him. / Luke Skywalker: I must be allowed to speak. / Bib Fortuna: He must be allowed to speak. / Jabba the Hutt: You weak-minded fool! He's using an old Jedi mind trick! / Luke Skywalker: You will bring Captain Solo and the wookie to me. / Jabba the Hutt: Your mind powers will not work on me, boy.

   • 2009, J. V. Jones, A Cavern of Black Ice:

     Stupid, she told herself. Vain, weak-minded, and stupid.

   • 2012, Ray Comfort, Comfort Food, →ISBN:

     I have lost count of how many times I have heard that Christianity is a crutch for weak-minded people, who can't make it in life without faith.

   • 2013, Kevin S. Decker, Jason T. Eberl, William Irwin, Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine, →ISBN:

     Plato sympathizes with the desire to influence weak-minded people. However, rather than directly controlling the minds of such people by the power of his own will, he uses the power of his thought to construct a myth designed to control the beliefs of the weak-minded by appealing to their imagination.

   • 2024 March 8, David Horsey, “‘Uncommitted’ voters have to face political reality”, in Seattle Times‎:

     Biden may be old, but he is far from the debilitated, weak-minded caricature drawn of him by right-wing media.

   • 2024 December 5, Katie Thompson, Annie Delaney, “The fictional kingdom of couple who buried son in garden”, in BBC News‎:

     But police said he was arrogant and manipulative, while Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah was weak-minded and gullible.

2. (offensive, now chiefly historical) Mentally or intellectually deficient; feeble-minded; half-witted.
   • 1899, Alexander Johnson, “Concerning a form of degeneracy”, in Albion W. Small et al., editors, American Journal of Sociology, volume 4, Chicago: University of Chicago, page 331:

     Their mother is insane ; father somewhat weak-minded.

   • 1907, George Henry Savage, The increase of insanity: the Lumleian lectures , London: Cassell and Company, Limited, page 37:

     they have been looked upon as unstable and the result has been weak-minded progeny.

   • 2004, William F. Bynum, Roy Porter, Michael Shepherd, The Anatomy of Madness: Essays in the History of Psychiatry, Volume 3, →ISBN, page 279:

     Altogether thirty-four out of 146 'criminal lunatics' admitted to the asylum between 1852 and 1890 were described as weak-minded or imbecile by the asylum staff.

• “weak-minded, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “weak-minded”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “weak-minded”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.