Heikkouksen

Heikkouksen is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun heikkous, meaning weakness, flaw, deficiency or vulnerability. The word is used to denote a characteristic that weakens performance or resilience in people, organizations, systems or plans. It appears in phrases such as heikkouksen syy (the cause of the weakness) and heikkouksen ilmentymät (manifestations of weakness).

In Finnish grammar, heikkous is formed from the base adjective heikko with the noun-forming suffix -us. The genitive singular suffix -n yields heikkouksen. The genitive plural is heikkousten. The form expresses possession or relation, for example in heikkouksen syy or heikkouksen vaikutus (the effect of the weakness).

Contexts and nuance: The term is common in medical, psychological, economic and risk-management discourse. As a noun, it can describe physical weakness (for instance lihaksen heikkous, the weakness of a muscle) or non-physical shortcomings such as strategic or organizational vulnerability. Because it denotes a negative attribute, its use is typically evaluative rather than defamatory and is often part of a broader assessment or analysis.

See also: heikkous, heikko. Etymology: from the adjective heikko and the suffix -us; combined with the genitive -n to form heikkouksen.