--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The weak can be terrible because they try…" description: "\"The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to appear strong.\" — Rabindranath Tagore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/rabindranath-tagore-383_strength_the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-tr_36874.png" --- # The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to… ![“The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to appear strong.” quote by Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/rabindranath-tagore-383_strength_the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-tr_36874.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/rabindranath-tagore-383_strength_the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-tr_36874.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/rabindranath-tagore-383_strength_the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-tr_36874.png) > “The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to appear strong.” [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that those who are insecure may overcompensate, resulting in harmful behavior. **In simple terms:** Insecurity can cause destructive overconfidence. Key Takeaway Weakness masked by aggression harms others. Themes insecurity overcompensation authenticity power dynamics self-awareness Mood cautionary reflective critical Type advice observation philosophical When to use this quote - workplace conflict - political rhetoric - personal relationships - online debates - team management Key Concepts psychology social behavior leadership integrity Practical Applications - coaching for authentic leadership - conflict resolution training Questions to Reflect On - How does insecurity manifest in your actions? - What steps can you take to express strength authentically? A Different Perspective Some argue that strong individuals also act harshly, so the behavior is not exclusive to the weak. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appear Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appear-strong-443901/) [Furiously Appear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/furiously-appear-443903/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Try Furiously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try-furiously-443904/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) [Weak Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak-terrible-443902/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [If you are strong, appear weak. But if you are weak, appear strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/if-you-are-strong-appear-weak-but-if-you-are-weak-appear-strong/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“Sun Tzu’s advice: ‘When strong, appear weak. When weak, appear strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-v-larson/sun-tzu-s-advice-when-strong-appear-weak-when-weak-appear-strong/) [B.V. Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-v-larson/) > [If you can do a lot of pull-ups, you don't just appear to be strong. You are strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omarion/if-you-can-do-a-lot-of-pull-ups-you-don-t-just-appear-to-be-strong/) [Omarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omarion/) > [When you want to be a good player in next years worldcup you wanna be in good shape to appear strong at the tournament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-muller/when-you-want-to-be-a-good-player-in-next-years-worldcup-you-wanna-be/) [Thomas Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-muller/) > [I don’t think it's weak to admit you made a mistake. That takes strength, if you ask me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-don-t-think-it-s-weak-to-admit-you-made-a-mistake-that-takes/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Here one must think profoundly to the very basis and resist all sentimental weakness: life itself is essentially appropriation, injury, conquest of the strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/here-one-must-think-profoundly-to-the-very-basis-and-resist-all/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The mortal race is far too weak not to grow dizzy on unwonted brights. \[Ger., Das sterbliche Geschlecht ist viel zu schwach In ungewohnter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-mortal-race-is-far-too-weak-not-to-grow-dizzy-on-unwonted-brights/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Just because you cry doesn't mean you are weak, it's one way your heart expresses itself through your eyes. Just because you give up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-nathaniel-butler/just-because-you-cry-doesn-t-mean-you-are-weak-it-s-one-way-your/) [Eugene Nathaniel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-nathaniel-butler/) > [“Crying doesn’t mean you’re weak ... Sometimes it’s what you need to do to get strong again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-w-lynne/crying-doesn-t-mean-you-re-weak-sometimes-it-s-what-you-need-to-do-to/) [J.W. Lynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-w-lynne/) > [There's nothing weak about beauty, child. The only weakness in it is if you think it means anything important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-fletcher/there-s-nothing-weak-about-beauty-child-the-only-weakness-in-it-is-if/) [Charlie Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-fletcher/) > [I'm strong enough to know when I'm weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-strong-enough-to-know-when-i-m-weak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No matter how weak you are, you will always have a way to be strong, you just have to find it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-matter-how-weak-you-are-you-will-always-have-a-way-to-be-strong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't abuse your body and you need to work hard on your weaknesses. Everyone likes to focus on the things they are good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-lafontaine/you-can-t-abuse-your-body-and-you-need-to-work-hard-on-your/) [Pat LaFontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-lafontaine/) > [Sometimes, you must get weak to realize you are strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-must-get-weak-to-realize-you-are-strong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) ## More by Rabindranath Tagore > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The meaning of this is, that whomsoever we love, in him we find our own soul in the highest sense. The final truth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-meaning-of-this-is-that-whomsoever-we-love-in-him-we-find-our-own/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-you-shed-tears-when-you-miss-the-sun-you-also-miss-the-stars/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/go-not-to-the-temple-to-put-flowers-upon-the-feet-of-god-first-fill/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-best-kind-of-wealth-is-to-give-up-inordinate-desires/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Now it is time to sit quiet, face to face with thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/now-it-is-time-to-sit-quiet-face-to-face-with-thee-and-to-sing/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [If it is necessary to die in order to live like men, what harm in dying?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-it-is-necessary-to-die-in-order-to-live-like-men-what-harm-in-dying/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Strong Mercy: My desires are many and my cry is pitiful, but ever didst thou save me by hard refusals; and this strong mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/strong-mercy-my-desires-are-many-and-my-cry-is-pitiful-but-ever-didst/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The movement of life has to rest in its own music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-movement-of-life-has-to-rest-in-its-own-music/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [It is the docile who achieve the most impossible things in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/it-is-the-docile-who-achieve-the-most-impossible-things-in-this-world/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“There, display and extravagance, in dress, in furniture, in costly entertainments, are startling. They seem to push you back into a corner, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/there-display-and-extravagance-in-dress-in-furniture-in-costly/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Let the splendor of diamond, pearl and ruby vanish? Only let this one teardrop, this Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/let-the-splendor-of-diamond-pearl-and-ruby-vanish-only-let-this-one/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) [Explore all 596 Rabindranath Tagore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## More Strength quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Laugh and grow strong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/laugh-and-grow-strong/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [“Serve in the grace of strength within thy soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/serve-in-the-grace-of-strength-within-thy-soul/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Strong brows is what I have, and I embrace them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connelly/strong-brows-is-what-i-have-and-i-embrace-them/) [Jennifer Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-connelly/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Failure actually makes you strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-sharma/failure-actually-makes-you-strong/) [Neha Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-sharma/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/) [Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/) > [“I met Suffering on a quiet road, just as the sun was setting behind me. Its presence was heavy, like an old coat I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/i-met-suffering-on-a-quiet-road-just-as-the-sun-was-setting-behind-me/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [When I wrote my fictional novels, they always had a starting point of something real. Those images that are not real are exactly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/when-i-wrote-my-fictional-novels-they-always-had-a-starting-point-of/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [You're the strength I need to fight, you're the reason I still try. I'm the moth and you're the light, use these wings so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-the-strength-i-need-to-fight-you-re-the-reason-i-still-try-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Honesty in politics is the result of strength; hypocrisy is the result of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/honesty-in-politics-is-the-result-of-strength-hypocrisy-is-the-result/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) [Browse all 9,879 Strength quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to appear strong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rabindranath Tagore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-try-furiously-to-appear-strong/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Strength" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-try-furiously-to-appear-strong/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/rabindranath-tagore-383_strength_the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-tr_36874.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/rabindranath-tagore-383_strength_the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-tr_36874.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/rabindranath-tagore-383_strength_the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-tr_36874.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to appear strong.” — Rabindranath Tagore", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rabindranath Tagore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The weak can be terrible because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-try-furiously-to-appear-strong/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-try-furiously-to-appear-strong/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```