flaw

¹ American  

[flaw] / flɔ /

noun

1. a feature that mars the perfection of something; defect; fault.

   beauty without flaw; the flaws in our plan.

   Synonyms:

   spot, blot, imperfection

2. a defect impairing legal soundness or validity.

3. a crack, break, breach, or rent.

   Synonyms:

   rift, fissure

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verb (used with object)

1. to produce a flaw in.

verb (used without object)

1. to contract a flaw; become cracked or defective.

flaw ² American  

[flaw] / flɔ /

noun

1. Also called windflaw.  a sudden, usually brief windstorm or gust of wind.

2. a short spell of rough weather.

3. Obsolete. a burst of feeling, fury, etc.

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flaw ¹ British  

/ flɔː /

noun

1. an imperfection, defect, or blemish

2. a crack, breach, or rift

3. law an invalidating fault or defect in a document or proceeding

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verb

1. to make or become blemished, defective, or imperfect

flaw ² British  

/ flɔː /

noun

1. 1. a sudden short gust of wind; squall

   2. a spell of bad, esp windy, weather

2. obsolete an outburst of strong feeling

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Related Words

See defect.

Other Word Forms

• flawless adjective
• flawlessly adverb
• flawlessness noun
• flawy adjective

Etymology

Origin of flaw¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English flage, flaw(e), perhaps from Old Norse flaga “sliver, flake”

Origin of flaw²

First recorded in 1475–85, flaw is from the Old Norse word flaga attack, squall

Example Sentences

But their abundance, often limited to certain months here in the Northeast, points to a larger flaw within the greater salad discourse: there’s very little hype for salads in the winter.

From Salon

Yet, though Travis is a fatally flawed messenger, his analysis of the state of urban America has a disturbing ring of truth.

From The Wall Street Journal

"It enables us to see our parents less as supernatural beings but see them as flawed, human people," he says.

From BBC

Instead of harassing myself over my housing stability as proof of a character flaw, I reframed my moves as a whimsical plot twist, just as she had.

From Los Angeles Times

Brown told MSPs: "I do not think that in six short weeks the bill can be amended sufficiently to allay those concerns and the other flaws in the bill."

From BBC

Related Words

• blemish
• bug
• defect
• failing
• fault
• foible
• glitch
• pitfall
• weakness