SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN noun a feature that mars the perfection of something; defect; fault: beauty without flaw; the flaws in our plan.
a defect impairing legal soundness or validity.
a crack, break, breach, or rent.
verb (used without object) to contract a flaw; become cracked or defective.
Origin of flaw 1 1275–1325; Middle English flaw(e ), flage, perhaps < Old Norse flaga sliver, flake
Related forms flaw·less , adjective noun Also called windflaw . a sudden, usually brief windstorm or gust of wind. a short spell of rough weather.
Obsolete a burst of feeling, fury, etc.
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Origin of flaw 2 First recorded in 1475–85, flaw is from the Old Norse word flaga attack, squall
Related forms flaw·y , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for flaw blemish ,
weakness ,
failing ,
defect ,
foible ,
glitch ,
fault ,
bug ,
pitfall ,
gremlin ,
speck ,
vice ,
wart ,
spot ,
catch ,
stain ,
disfigurement ,
typo ,
catch-22 Examples from the Web for flaw Contemporary Examples of flaw Rather than a flaw that heightens her appeal, it is a flaw that makes her difficult to forgive.
But the book has one flaw that should serve as a warning or spur to other first-time writers: It lacks higher-order imagination.
If there is a flaw to be found here it is only one of narrowness; all of these narrators are American men and most are Marines.
By the time the Army decoded the first Venona cable, the flaw had been corrected and KGB communications rendered impenetrable.
Fatness may be a flaw , but it is not a singularly terrible flaw .
Historical Examples of flaw The Inspector seized on the one flaw left him for defense against her indictment.
The most carping could have found no flaw in the quiet taste of his attire.
It was more; it was a mistake, a flaw in her diplomacy; for Calendar intercepted it.
There was a flaw in one of the rods connected with the engine.
The complainant's shield was examined and counted, and not a flaw discovered.
British Dictionary definitions for flaw noun an imperfection, defect, or blemish
a crack, breach, or rift
law an invalidating fault or defect in a document or proceeding
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verb to make or become blemished, defective, or imperfect
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Derived Forms flawless , adjective flawlessly , adverb flawlessness , noun Word Origin for flaw C14: probably from Old Norse flaga stone slab; related to Swedish flaga chip, flake, flaw
noun a sudden short gust of wind; squall a spell of bad, esp windy, weather obsolete an outburst of strong feeling
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Derived Forms flawy , adjective Word Origin for flaw C16: of Scandinavian origin; related to Norwegian flaga squall, gust, Middle Dutch vlāghe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for flaw n. early 14c., "a flake" (of snow), also in Middle English "a spark of fire; a splinter," from Old Norse flaga "stone slab, flake" (see flagstone ); sense of "defect, fault" first recorded 1580s, first of character, later (c.1600) of material things; probably via notion of a "fragment" broken off.
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v. early 15c. (implied in flawed ); see flaw (n.). Related: Flawing .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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