vulnerable

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“
The poor and the vulnerable should be actively included in the recovery efforts and should be helped onto the path towards a low-carbon economy.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. adjective Susceptible to physical or emotional injury.
  2. adjective Susceptible to attack: "We are vulnerable both by water and land, without either fleet or army” (Alexander Hamilton).
  3. adjective Open to censure or criticism; assailable.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples

  • He backed all the way to the pilot box before he stopped, fighting to control his terror. —  Morgawr
  • Bent forward to climb from the stream he was frighteningly vulnerable, and a pellet thrown at point-blank range took him in that portion of his anatomy which he was offering to the enemy. —  The Sound of Thunder
  • Perhaps the most vulnerable is National Express East Coast, which bid £1bn in 2007 when it replaced GNER on the route from London to Edinburgh, after that operator's parent company went bust. —  Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk
  • The poor and the vulnerable should be actively included in the recovery efforts and should be helped onto the path towards a low-carbon economy. —  Slovak Spectator
  • "In Tucson, education, health care, services for the vulnerable are all being whacked," he said. —  azcentral.com | news
 

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Vulnerable has been looked up 432 times, favorited 0 times, listed 21 times, and commented on once.

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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

unable ·  sensitive ·  fragile ·  helpless ·  depress ·  insecure ·  desirable ·  uncomfortable ·  unstable ·  unprotected ·  naive ·  shy
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Late Latin vulnerābilis, wounding, from Latin vulnerāre, to wound, from vulnus, vulner-, wound; see welə- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French vulnérable = Spanish vulnerable = Portuguese vulneravel = Italian vulnerabile, from Late Latin vulnerabilis, wounding, injurious, from Latin vulnerare, wound, hurt.: see vulnerale.
 

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/ˈvəlnərəbl/
by American Heritage

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