vulnerable

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“
My own view was there was a very real danger that the team could be affected by Fergie's pre-match negativity when admitting that he felt "vulnerable" - a word that the United manager has never used before to my knowledge prior to any game.

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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)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

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Examples (50)

  • Regional banks are particularly vulnerable, analysts say. —  MarketWatch.com - Top Stories
  • Because the arrest took place on a Friday, as many as 24 babies and 40 children -- vulnerable young people already traumatised by political violence -- were crammed into the filthy unhygienic Southerton police cells over the weekend. —  Crikey » Canberra Calling
  • Most vulnerable are the elderly, infants and those with conditions that cause their immune systems to be compromised. —  ABC News: ABCNews
  • Discussing failure leaves people vulnerable, and the attendees of this session agreed to make it a safe space. —  contentious.com
  • Although those services end when a child reaches the age of 3, Hofmann Augustine joined more than 100 other families and therapists to speak out in support of Arizona's most vulnerable -- children with developmental and cognitive disabilities. —  Tucson Weekly
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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/
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