vulnerability
Americannoun
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openness or susceptibility to attack or harm.
We need to develop bold policies that will reduce the vulnerability of farmers to drought and floods.
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willingness to show emotion or to allow one’s weaknesses to be seen or known; willingness to risk being emotionally hurt.
The foundation for open communication consists of honesty, trust, and vulnerability.
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the condition of needing supportive or protective social services and community resources because of advanced age, poverty, disability, etc..
the vulnerability of disabled senior citizens.
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Biology, likeliness to be classified as an endangered species in the near future unless circumstances improve.
the vulnerability of the giraffe.
Etymology
Origin of vulnerability
First recorded in 1800–10; vulnerable ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rather than fearing a grandstand finish, David Moyes' team clearly sensed there was still time for one final twist against a side with such defensive vulnerabilities.
From BBC
These dynamics constrained the organization’s ability to act independently and exposed vulnerabilities within global health systems.
From Salon
All are recruited by "transnational networks that exploit persistent socio-economic vulnerabilities" in Africa.
From Barron's
But before building ever-faster defensive agents, we must address a deeper vulnerability: Much of the software underpinning critical systems today is poorly understood by its own operators.
The council said the new platform meant the authority would need to make fewer costly crisis interventions by reducing the vulnerability of residents.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
