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vul·ner·a·ble
 vulnerable
- pronunciation:
- vuhl
n
r
bl
- features:
- Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| definition 1: |
capable of being hurt or injured.
These plants are delicate and highly vulnerable to frost.Abuse from his father as a child had left him feeling vulnerable as an adult.The candidates want people to believe that they are strong and not vulnerable.- synonyms:
- defenseless
- antonyms:
- invincible, invulnerable, safe, strong
- similar words:
- helpless, powerless, precarious, sensitive, susceptible, tender, thin-skinned, touchy, unprotected, weak
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| definition 2: |
open to attack or danger.
Out in the open and without camouflage, the troops were highly vulnerable.The towns on the coast are vulnerable to hurricanes.
- synonyms:
- defenseless, exposed, naked, pregnable, unguarded, unprotected
- antonyms:
- impregnable, invulnerable, unassailable
- similar words:
- accessible, assailable, insecure, liable, open, out on a limb, penetrable, uncovered
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| definition 3: |
open to criticism or censure.
The discovery of the mayor's earlier drug use left him vulnerable to the press.- antonyms:
- impregnable, unassailable
- similar words:
- liable, out on a limb, subject, susceptible
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| related words: |
dangerous, easy, emotional, irritable, pliable |
| derivations: |
vulnerably (adv.), vulnerability (n.) |
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