vulnerability
vulnerabilities
Vulnerability is the quality of being easily hurt or attacked. Some seniors think it's funny to pick on the ninth graders because of their vulnerability.
Vulnerability comes from the Latin word for "wound," vulnus. Vulnerability is the state of being open to injury, or appearing as if you are. It might be emotional, like admitting that you're in love with someone who might only like you as a friend, or it can be literal, like the vulnerability of a soccer goal that's unprotected by any defensive players.
Definitions of vulnerability
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the state of being vulnerable or exposed
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susceptibility to injury or attack
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Antonyms:
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invulnerability
the property of being invulnerable; the property of being incapable of being hurt (physically or emotionally)
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types:
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defencelessness, defenselessness, unprotectedness
the property of being helpless in the face of attack
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assailability
vulnerability to forceful attack
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destructibility
vulnerability to destruction
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breakability, fragility, frangibility, frangibleness
quality of being easily damaged or destroyed
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exposure
vulnerability to the elements; to the action of heat or cold or wind or rain
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wind exposure, windage
exposure to the wind (as the exposed part of a vessel's hull which is responsible for wind resistance)
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solarisation, solarization
exposure to the rays of the sun
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type of:
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weakness
the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain
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invulnerability
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘vulnerability'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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