vulnerable
adjective
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The History of Vulnerable
Superheroes are often depicted in comic books and movies as all-powerful, deflecting boulders and missiles in mid-air with a flick of the wrist, walking through walls, and having indestructible skeletons and whatnot. Fans know, however, that even the mightiest, meatiest protagonist is vulnerable to something, be it kryptonite or forgetting the whereabouts of one’s hammer. Vulnerable ultimately comes from the Latin noun vulnus, meaning “wound,” by way of the Late Latin adjective vulnerabilis, which English speakers adopted as vulnerable in the early 1600s. Vulnerable continues to carry its original meaning of “capable of being physically wounded,” but since the late 1600s it has also been used figuratively to suggest a defenselessness against non-physical attacks. In other words, someone (or something) can be vulnerable to criticism or failure as well as to literal wounding—even superheroes. So don’t go breaking their hearts, even if you can’t break their bones.
Synonyms
Examples of vulnerable in a Sentence
Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 2 Nov. 2024
That leaves those sites especially vulnerable to extreme weather—and dangerous to the communities that surround them.
—Hana Kiros, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024
With a range of hundreds of meters to several kilometers, the laser heats up the target’s shell in vulnerable areas, including its engine or warhead, until the projectile collapses.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 1 Nov. 2024
Deli meat is vulnerable to bacteria growth once defrosted.
—Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near vulnerable
Cite this Entry
“Vulnerable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vulnerable. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.
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vulnerable
adjective
Medical Definition
vulnerable
adjective
The Journal of the American Medical Association
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