Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Weaken

Weaken , transitive verb

1.
To make weak; to lessen the strength of; to deprive of strength; to debilitate; to enfeeble; to enervate; as, to weaken the body or the mind; to weaken the hands of a magistrate; to weaken the force of an objection or an argument.
Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. — Neh. vi. 9
2.
To reduce in quality, strength, or spirit; as, to weaken tea; to weaken any solution or decoction.

Weaken , intransitive verb

To become weak or weaker; to lose strength, spirit, or determination; to become less positive or resolute; as, the patient weakened; the witness weakened on cross-examination.
His notion weakens, his discernings are lethargied. — Shakespeare