Dictionary

vulnerable en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈvʌln(ə)ɹəbl̩/
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈvʌn(ə)ɹəbl̩/ (proscribed)

Etymology

From Late Latin vulnerābilis (“injurious, wounding”), from Latin vulnerō (“to wound”).

Meanings

1. More or most likely to be exposed to the chance of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
   • The elimination of [Roger] Federer after [Rafael] Nadal's loss to Lukas Rosol would have created mild panic among the fans of these gloriously gifted but now clearly vulnerable geniuses. 2012 June 29, Kevin Mitchell, “Roger Federer back from Wimbledon 2012 brink to beat Julien Benneteau”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 15 Nov 2016:
   • You are vulnerable to be bullied by someone at school.
   • In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’ 1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter 1, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1953, →ISBN:
   • One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools[…]as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence. 2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1:
2. More or most likely to be exposed to the chance of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. ▸ Open to disclosing one's inner thoughts and feelings, acting in spite of one's instinct to self-preservation.
   • It's okay to get vulnerable every now and again.
3. More likely to be exposed to malicious programs or viruses.
   • a vulnerable PC with no antivirus software
4. (of a language or species) at moderate risk of extinction though not quite endangered.
   • Welsh is merely a vulnerable language, but Irish and Scottish Gaelic are definitely endangered.

Forms

Antonyms

powerful (antonym(s) of “exposed to attack”) · indomitable (antonym(s) of “exposed to attack”) · invincible (antonym(s) of “exposed to attack”) · strong (antonym(s) of “exposed to attack”) · invulnerable (antonym(s) of “exposed to attack”) · durable (antonym(s) of “exposed to attack”)

Deriveds

vulnerability · ultravulnerable · vulnerably · nonvulnerable · unvulnerable · hypervulnerable · supervulnerable · vulnerableness

Synonyms

weak (exposed to attack) · unprotected (exposed to attack) · woundable (exposed to attack) · powerless (exposed to attack) · soft (exposed to attack) · defenceless (exposed to attack) · helpless (exposed to attack) · unguarded (exposed to attack)

Translations (78)

uk уразли́вий (exposed to attack) · de verwundbar (exposed to attack) · ja 脆い (exposed to attack) · he פגיע (exposed to attack) · de empfindlich (exposed to attack) · ru уязви́мый (exposed to attack) · az dişbatan (exposed to attack) · fr vulnérable (exposed to attack) · kk қорғансыз (exposed to attack) · ro vulnerabil (exposed to attack) · cmn 脆弱的 (exposed to attack) · cmn 弱勢的 /弱势的 (exposed to attack) · cmn 易損的 /易损的 (exposed to attack) · ru рани́мый (exposed to attack) · de verletzlich (exposed to attack) · pl bezbronny (exposed to attack) · pl wrażliwy (exposed to attack) · mk ра́нлив (exposed to attack) · ar عرضة (exposed to attack) · mi whakaraerae (exposed to attack) · ko 취약한 (exposed to attack) · fa آسیبپذیر (exposed to attack) · sk zraniteľný (exposed to attack) · es vulnerable (exposed to attack) · id rentan (exposed to attack) · is viðkvæmur (exposed to attack) · fi haavoittuvainen (exposed to attack) · cs zranitelný (exposed to attack) · hu fenyegetett (exposed to attack) · fo viðbrekin (exposed to attack) · eo vundebla (exposed to attack) · sv sårbar (exposed to attack) · vi dễ tổn thương (exposed to attack) · ca vulnerable (exposed to attack) · km ដែលងាយធ្វើអោយឈឺចាប់ (exposed to attack) · ja 弱い (exposed to attack) · hu sebezhető (exposed to attack) · ka დაუცველი (exposed to attack) · uk ура́зливий (exposed to attack) · ar عُرْضَة لِلْجَرْح (exposed to attack) · be уразлі́вы (exposed to attack) · nb sårbar (exposed to attack) · sh рањив (exposed to attack) · sv utsatt (exposed to attack) · hu veszélyeztetett (exposed to attack) · hu sérülékeny (exposed to attack) · it vulnerabile (exposed to attack) · gv so-lhottey (exposed to attack) · ka მოწყვლადი (exposed to attack) · gl vulnerable (exposed to attack) · eu zaurgarri (exposed to attack) · de anfällig (exposed to attack) · ja 脆弱な (exposed to attack) · ko 연약한 (exposed to attack) · bg уязви́м (exposed to attack) · sh rànjiv (exposed to attack) · el ευάλωτος (exposed to attack) · ko 상처 입기 쉬운 (exposed to attack) · hu támadható (exposed to attack) · pt vulnerável (exposed to attack) · cmn 敏感的 (exposed to attack) · hi असुरक्षित (exposed to attack) · dsb zranjobny (exposed to attack) · da sårbar (exposed to attack) · ar هَشّ (exposed to attack) · hy խոցելի (exposed to attack) · scn vurniràbbili (exposed to attack) · mi pānekeneke (exposed to attack) · nl kwetsbaar (exposed to attack) · ja 傷つきやすい (exposed to attack) · th เปราะบาง (exposed to attack) · fi herkkä (exposed to attack) · ar ضَعِيْف (exposed to attack) · lt pažeidžiamas (exposed to attack) · is særanlegur (exposed to attack) · la forābilis (exposed to attack) · sl ranljiv (exposed to attack) · ga soghonta (exposed to attack)