faiblissez

Faiblissez is a French verb form derived from faiblir. It corresponds to the second person plural present indicative (vous faiblissez = you are weakening) and, in the imperative mood, to a command form addressed to a group (Faiblissez! = weaken or grow weaker). In everyday usage, the imperative sense is uncommon and the form is more often seen in descriptive contexts.

Faiblir means to become weaker or to lessen in strength, intensity, or vitality. It is used for physical strength, energy, or resolve, as well as for non-physical measures such as resistance or opposition. The verb is primarily intransitive: you say, for example, le vent faiblit (the wind is weakening) or les armées faiblissent (the armies are weakening). A more common way to express a deliberate reduction or dampening with a transitive sense is to use affaiblir (to weaken something) or to employ diminuer/reduire in directive language.

Etymology and form: faiblir derives from the adjective faible (weak); the verb shares its root with that word and has existed in French since medieval times. The stem is faibl- with standard -ir verb endings, including the present tense forms: je faiblis, tu faiblis, il/elle faiblit, nous faiblissons, vous faiblissez, ils/elles faiblissent.

See also: affaiblir, faible, faiblesse, affaiblissement.