foible

[ foi-buhl ]

/ ˈfɔɪ bəl /

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noun

a minor weakness or failing of character; slight flaw or defect: an all-too-human foible.

the weaker part of a sword blade, between the middle and the point (opposed to forte).

OTHER WORDS FOR foible

1 frailty, quirk, crotchet, eccentricity, peculiarity.

See synonyms for foible on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR foible

1 strength.

See antonyms for foible on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

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Origin of foible

First recorded in 1640–50; from French, obsolete form of faible feeble

synonym study for foible

1. See fault.

Words nearby foible

fog signal, fogy, föhn, FOI, FOIA, foible, foie gras, foil, foilborne, foiled, foilsman

How to use foible in a sentence

Human foibles have never been more readily apparent, or more easily exposed.
Where Is the Next MLK?|Sean Culligan|April 9, 2021|Ozy
It’s a provocative, entertaining book that, much like Wolfe did, exposes our collective foibles and makes everybody look a little cartoonish.
David Duchovny wants to be taken seriously as a novelist. His new book makes a good case.|Mark Athitakis|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
These scientists aren’t necessarily familiar with the quirks and foibles of interferometric arrays.
SETI: New Signal Excites Alien Hunters—Here’s How We Could Find Out if It’s Real|Michael Garrett|January 7, 2021|Singularity Hub
The Steelers are indeed playing awful football, but most of their foibles are on the offensive side of the ball.
The Steelers, Saints and Rams aren’t finishing strong. For the playoffs, it might not matter.|Neil Greenberg|December 26, 2020|Washington Post

The narrative fleshes out humanlike foibles that strike chords in your heart.
‘Bugsnax’ is charming and funny, but sapped by vexing gameplay|Harold Goldberg|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
His foible met the flash of the other man's forte, and his blade bounced aside like a sprung bow.
The Great Potlatch Riots|Allen Kim Lang
Il ne suffit pas de dire que l'esprit est foible, il faut lui faire sentir ses foiblesses.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
Emancipation is all a delusion, a foible, a fantasy, an idle dream!
The Right of American Slavery|True Worthy Hoit
Judith consented to consult her; Mary soon found out the foible of the poor woman.
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events|S. Baring-Gould
And now and then a human foible might be recorded by the stonemason without risk of undermining society's foundations.
Adventures and Enthusiasms|E. V. Lucas

British Dictionary definitions for foible

foible

/ (ˈfɔɪbəl) /

noun

a slight peculiarity or minor weakness; idiosyncrasy

the most vulnerable part of a sword's blade, from the middle to the tipCompare forte 1 (def. 2)

Word Origin for foible

C17: from obsolete French, from obsolete adj: feeble

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

foible

OTHER WORDS FOR foible

OPPOSITES FOR foible

Origin of foible

synonym study for foible

Words nearby foible

Words related to foible

How to use foible in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for foible

Word Origin for foible