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He was very vulnerable after his divorce.
The troops were in a vulnerable position.
The fort was undefended and vulnerable.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vulnerable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Vulnerable is ultimately derived from the Latin noun vulnus ("wound"). "Vulnus" led to the Latin verb vulnerare, meaning "to wound," and then to the Late Latin adjective vulnerabilis, which became "vulnerable" in English in the early 1600s. "Vulnerable" originally meant "capable of being physically wounded" or "having the power to wound" (the latter is now obsolete), 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. When it is used figuratively, "vulnerable" is often followed by the preposition "to."
: easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally
: open to attack, harm, or damage
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for vulnerable Spanish Central: Translation of vulnerable Nglish: Translation of vulnerable for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of vulnerable for Arabic speakers
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