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.
Human Rights Watch has said the removal of voters was "arbitrary and deeply flawed".
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
The three aforementioned scary mommy streaming series go much farther out of their way to depict their respective parents as flawed individuals who do care about their kids.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
But he argued that public polling is flawed and fought back against the notion that GOP voters are dejected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
The club's recruitment department is working on potential targets for January given it is accepted the strategy of not signing left-back competition for Luke Shaw and striking support for Benjamin Sesko was flawed.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Reverend Lanier had and concluded that, while Mr. Van Dyke’s theology was flawed, his message was clear.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
