flawed
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flawed
Explanation
Things that are flawed are less than perfect. A flawed dinner plate might have a small chip in it, and a flawed English paper includes at least one mistake. Flawed objects have some kind of imperfection — a dent or a blemish. No one's perfect, so everyone is flawed in some way, but when this word describes a person it often means "weak in character."A Shakespearian flawed hero has some flaw or foible that will ultimately be his undoing: in other words, a "fatal flaw." Flawed comes from flaw, originally "a flake of snow," later "a splinter," and finally "an imperfection."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That exclusion was not some unfortunate byproduct of a flawed system.
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2026
Uber said the investigation was fundamentally flawed and did not take into key variables such as the distance a driver has to travel to pick up the customer.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
Researchers from Utah State University and Colorado State University say the earlier work relied on flawed methods that led to exaggerated conclusions about how wolves affected the park's ecosystem.
From Science Daily • Jun. 14, 2026
The digital recording system used as a backup to the official court reporter produced a transcript the defense said was too flawed to be of much use.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
As if both of them lived with Shirin and remember her with their own flawed memories.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
