FLAW Synonyms: 130 Similar and Opposite Words

flaw 1 of 2

noun

ˈflȯ

Definition of flaw

as in defect

something that spoils the appearance or completeness of a thing noted the flaw in the diamond before I bought it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

flaw

2 of 2

verb

as in to damage

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of that crack has flawed the vase to the extent that its value in the antiques market is greatly reduced

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of flaw

Noun

Trump, in his remarks, urged Texans to vote for Paxton despite what the president considers to be his flaws. — Tamara Keith, NPR, 10 Sep. 2026 Kansas City has flaws early that should sort themselves out later in the season. — Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Verb

This analysis made several assumptions, some of which were flawed (though entirely reasonably). — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 10 June 2026 That process can be tedious, may involve delays due to issues with resources, outdated technology or flawed data reporting practices, and may ultimately result in partial data or data with redactions. — Divya Ramjee, The Conversation, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for flaw

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flaw

Noun

Autonomous navigation Transcatheter closure is a minimally invasive technique that repairs structural heart defects without open-heart surgery.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) conducts screenings on the general population for those between 14 and 35 years old and found that one in every 300 people has a life-threatening heart defect.

— Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of defect

Verb

Extensive lines backed up at Kauai's primary airport as people tried to leave the island; state officials said the airport was operating on a lone backup generator because a second generator was damaged by the storm.

— GENE JOHNSON, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026
The precise composition of ancient Egyptian paints, binders, adhesives, and similar materials used to make artifacts is largely unknown, in part because a full analysis would require taking samples that would damage those valuable artifacts.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of damage

Verb

The tenures of the two subsequent chief baseball executives, Billy Eppler and Minasian, were marred by Moreno’s intrusions, sources said.

— Andy McCullough, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Amnesty International had called on the Court of Cassation to overturn the convictions, describing the case as politically motivated and saying the trial was marred by due process and other violations.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of mar

Noun

Cardiac arrhythmia ablation, according to the British Heart Foundation, is when heat or cold energy is used to create tiny scars in the heart to block faulty signals and restore a typical heartbeat.

— Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Wildfire burn scars increase the chances for flash-flooding events.

— Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of scar

Verb

After all, that was the group that revolutionized last year’s offense from strong but static to unpredictable and setting a league-wide trend with 13 personnel and dominated on play-action and in the run game with defenses consistently compromised.

— Nate Atkins, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Attackers compromised a single support agent’s account and, according to Discord’s own statement, exposed roughly 70,000 government ID photos.

— Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of compromise

Verb

Less than a week after Baltimore spent $5 million to claim him off waivers, Robert injured his hamstring.

— Andy McCullough, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
At a separate Ohio event, an armed assailant charged toward Democratic candidate for Ohio governor Amy Acton during a Sunday stop at the Canfield Fair and injured several people before he was stopped by troopers, authorities said.

— Patrick Whittle, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of injure

Browse Nearby Words

flavorsome

flaw

flawed

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Flaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flaw. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of flaw

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

empirical

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes