flawed
[flawd]
- characterized by flaws; having imperfections: a flawed gem; a seriously flawed piece of work.
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Origin of flawed
flaw1
[flaw]
- 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.
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- to produce a flaw in.
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- to contract a flaw; become cracked or defective.
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Origin of flaw1
1275–1325; Middle English flaw(e), flage, perhaps < Old Norse flaga sliver, flake
Synonyms
See more synonyms for flaw on Thesaurus.com1. imperfection, blot, spot. 3. fissure, rift.
Synonym study
1. See defect.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for flawed
Contemporary Examples
On the other end of the spectrum, there lies an artist like Lena Dunham, who engages in a flaunting of the flawed self.
Despite the actions of a flawed few, it is arguably the finest professional police force in the world.
The Wildly Peaceful, Human, Almost Boring, Ultimately Great New York City Protests for Eric GarnerMike Barnicle
December 8, 2014
Islands overrun by flawed people, both indigenous and imperialist.
This is a new version of Catman, his past is yet to be told, but an ordeal made him not just badass, but flawed, deeply flawed.
Court cases are flawed devices to sort out and solve such important social problems.
Historical Examples
They may be flawed—they may be true—hardly any one has thought of sounding them.
The Philosophy of Natural TheologyWilliam Jackson
And yet much of Tarkington's work is flawed by a curious failing.
Seeing Things at NightHeywood Broun
The clear mirror had caught its own image clearly in the flawed one at last.
The TurmoilBooth Tarkington
And it was something golden and immortal in her poor, flawed, human heart.
The Brimming CupDorothy Canfield Fisher
It is the American story—a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals.
flaw1
- 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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- to make or become blemished, defective, or imperfect
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Word Origin
C14: probably from Old Norse flaga stone slab; related to Swedish flaga chip, flake, flaw
flaw2
- a sudden short gust of wind; squall
- a spell of bad, esp windy, weather
- obsolete an outburst of strong feeling
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Word Origin
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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for flawed
flaw
v.
early 15c. (implied in flawed); see flaw (n.). Related: Flawing.
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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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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper