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
Elaine Chen, STAT, 17 July 2024
This week alone, millions of people have been displaced by floods, landslides and heavy rains across South Asia, which is home to about a quarter of the world’s population and among the most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN, 17 July 2024
Harm from overnight heat Pregnant women are also particularly vulnerable when overnight temperatures remain warm, providing little relief from daytime heat, said Ashely Ward, the director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University.
—Amudalat Ajasa, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
Thousands of families watched their money evaporate after entrusting it to Govoni's nonprofit, which managed trust funds for vulnerable people, according to court records.
—Yacob Reyes, Axios, 16 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Vulnerable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vulnerable. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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vulnerable
adjective
Medical Definition
vulnerable
adjective
The Journal of the American Medical Association
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