foible
Americannoun
-
a minor weakness or failing of character; slight flaw or defect.
an all-too-human foible.
- Synonyms:
- peculiarity, eccentricity, crotchet, quirk, frailty
- Antonyms:
- strength
-
the weaker part of a sword blade, between the middle and the point (forte ).
noun
-
a slight peculiarity or minor weakness; idiosyncrasy
-
the most vulnerable part of a sword's blade, from the middle to the tip Compare forte 1
Related Words
See fault.
Etymology
Origin of foible
First recorded in 1640–50; from French, obsolete form of faible feeble
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.
It helps fund managers justify their salaries and makes ordinary people feel better because of a foible known as the illusion of control.
Writing about their failures, foibles and frustrations did not lessen the hold that these three men and their movie magic have on Fischer.
From Los Angeles Times
Long-married people who are getting on in years do learn to accept one another’s foibles.
A surgical approach to the flaws and foibles of American society.
This image, of a young woman with dreams, goals and a few foibles, is what historian William J. Mann sketches in his sensitive new book, “Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
