When she begged him to let her stay, he weakened.

[fenglish]

Hi,

Below is an example from Longman dictionary

When she begged him to let her stay, he weakened.

Does the "weakened" mean "refused"?
The dictionary explanation is "to make someone has less determined".

Please help, thanks.

 

[probus]

No. "He weakened" implies that, although he had previously felt that she should not be allowed to stay, he changed his mind at least to some extent: she should be allowed to stay temporarily at least, and possibly permanently.

 

[fenglish]

Thank you, I have rethinking the sentence three times based on your answer, now fully understood. It should be easy to understand but sometimes I can't figure it out when thinking all in English.

 

[emsr2d2]

The dictionary explanation is "to make someone has less determined".

Are you sure you copied the dictionary explanation correctly? It doesn't make sense.

 

[Matthew Wai]

It should be 'to become less determined'── quoted from www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/weaken

I take 'he weakened' to mean 'he became less determined not to let her stay'.

I can't figure it out when thinking all in English.

I can't think in English either.

 

[emsr2d2]

It should be 'to become less determined'── quoted from www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/weaken

I know what it should have said, Matthew but I asked the OP to check he/she had copied it correctly. We ask direct questions on purpose - not because we don't know the answer but because we want the OP to really look at what they write. Please stop jumping in.

 

[fenglish]

Are you sure you copied the dictionary explanation correctly? It doesn't make sense.

After checking the explanation again from Longman dictionary, the original explanation is "to make someone less determined, or to become less determined".

I have added the "has" by mistake. Thanks for pointing out my mistake.