foible

American  

[foi-buhl] / ˈfɔɪ bəl /

noun

• foibles
  plural

1. a minor weakness or failing of character; slight flaw or defect.

   an all-too-human foible.

   Synonyms:

   peculiarity, eccentricity, crotchet, quirk, frailty

   Antonyms:

   strength

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

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foible British  

/ ˈfɔɪbəl /

noun

1. a slight peculiarity or minor weakness; idiosyncrasy

2. the most vulnerable part of a sword's blade, from the middle to the tip Compare forte 1

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Synonym Usage

See fault.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• foibles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of foible

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

Explanation

If you repeat foible out loud enough times, it sounds so funny that you can laugh at it and maybe remember to laugh at the odd and distinctive weaknesses of others — the foible or two or a hundred that we all have. Sometimes a foible helps make a person who they are, even if the foible, or weakness ("feeble" is a close relative), is a little odd. Synonyms for foible in a negative sense are "failing," "shortcoming," and in a more positive sense "quirk," "eccentricity." It can likewise be annoying or endearing. Most people have a foible, or idiosyncrasy, that stands out to others, but interestingly, a person rarely sees his or her own characteristic foible.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foible foibles

If one had to nail down the central theme of “The Audacity,” aside from pure human foible, it would be the perils posed to privacy by the profitability of data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026

“He used to tell me that every joke has a message. Whatever you’re laughing at, you’re laughing at some foible of yours or somebody else’s. What is learned from laughter is learned well.”

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022

"Never For Ever" ultimately produced three Top 20 singles, including the indelible foible "Babooshka."

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2022

Jones happily recites the joke using the other word, and the two men laugh, having been caught in a foible of their profession.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2021

But in our history the foible of a King avails but little when it clashes with the conscience, the ideal, the will of a people.

From Body, Parentage and Character in History Notes on the Tudor Period by Furneaux Jordan

“It is infectious to play a character who sees the best in people and isn’t mad at the world for all its foibles and bullies and shadows,” Sudeikis recently told the Hollywood Reporter.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

The foibles of the Mets are so many and so weird that Mets fans themselves have embraced a term for them: LOLMets.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

A surgical approach to the flaws and foibles of American society.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

But the film itself is far from your average rom-com, more interested in the mechanics and machinations of modern dating than its lovable foibles.

From Salon ● Jan. 6, 2026

After that, as products of very different backgrounds they were continually scared stiff of hurting each other’s feelings; hence they understood and tolerated their respective foibles almost to the point of obsequiousness.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Related Words

• eccentricity
• failing
• frailty
• idiosyncrasy
• infirmity
• peculiarity
• quirk
• shortcoming
• weakness