Arabic vocabulary
فَتَرَweaken in Arabic
فَتَرَ is how you say “weaken” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root ف ت ر (f-t-r)verb (form I)Pronounced fatara
Meaning of weaken in Arabic
- to remit, abate, become gentle after vehemence — said of heat, cold, water, or a price cooling or easing off
- to flag, grow remiss, slacken in effort — figurative, of a person's work or energy
- to become languid, lax, and weak — of the body
- to become languishing, languid — of the eyes or a gaze
Used literally of heat, cold, or water cooling after being intense, and figuratively of a person's energy or effort slackening. The noun فَتْرَة is especially well known from its Qur'anic use for the interval between the missions of two prophets.
Words from the same root
- فُتُورٌlanguor, slackening, remission
- فَاتِرٌlanguid; lukewarm, tepid
- فَتْرَةٌan interval, period, e.g. between prophets
- فتّرto make ease off, weaken
- تَفَتَّرَto become languid, slacken
Common questions
- How do you say "weaken" in Arabic?
- فَتَرَ (fatara) — literally to remit or abate after vehemence, and by extension to grow weak or languid.
- What does فَتْرَة mean in Arabic?
- A period or interval — classically the gap between the missions of two prophets, when the apostolic message had ceased.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
فَإِنْ فَتَرَ سَائِقُهَا ضَلَّتْ عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ
If its driver weakens, it strays from the path.
فَتَرَ — weakens. Past-tense verb 'fatara' = 'he/it slackened, lost strength'. The subject 'it' is built in.
From: Faith as Light →وَإِنْ فَتَرَ قَائِدُهَا حَرَنَتْ
And if its guide weakens, it becomes stubborn.
فَتَرَ — weakens. Past-tense verb 'fatara' = 'he/it slackened, lost strength'. The subject 'it' is built in.
From: Faith as Light →فَأَخَذَهُ مَعَهُ فِي فِرَاشِهِ وَأَلْصَقَهُ بِأَحْشَائِهِ حَتَّى أَصْبَحَ وَقَدْ فَتَرَ الْمَاءُ
So he took it with him in his bed and pressed it against his entrails until it became morning and the water had cooled.
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