vulnerability

American  

[vuhl-ner-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌvʌl nər əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

Rarely vulnerableness

noun

• vulnerabilities
  plural

1. openness or susceptibility to attack or harm.

   We need to develop bold policies that will reduce the vulnerability of farmers to drought and floods.

2. willingness to show emotion or to allow one’s weaknesses to be seen or known; willingness to risk being emotionally hurt.

   The foundation for open communication consists of honesty, trust, and vulnerability.

3. the condition of needing supportive or protective social services and community resources because of advanced age, poverty, disability, etc..

   the vulnerability of disabled senior citizens.

4. Biology, likeliness to be classified as an endangered species in the near future unless circumstances improve.

   the vulnerability of the giraffe.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• vulnerabilities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vulnerability

First recorded in 1800–10; vulnerable ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Explanation

Vulnerability is the quality of being easily hurt or attacked. Some seniors think it's funny to pick on the ninth graders because of their vulnerability. Vulnerability comes from the Latin word for "wound," vulnus. Vulnerability is the state of being open to injury, or appearing as if you are. It might be emotional, like admitting that you're in love with someone who might only like you as a friend, or it can be literal, like the vulnerability of a soccer goal that's unprotected by any defensive players.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vulnerability vulnerabilities

Relationships are tough, they make us vulnerable, and people really like not having to have that vulnerability.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

Such combined assaults expose a vulnerability in Western air defenses that rely on expensive interceptors to shoot down incoming projectiles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Nepal's hydropower boom has long been touted as a cornerstone of economic growth and renewable energy, but the devastating flood in August exposed its vulnerability.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

A British woman, one of the survivors of Canadian poison seller Kenneth Law, faced him in court on Wednesday to describe how he had exploited her vulnerability.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Except for a funny-shaped finger and that evil birthmark, she was free of any normal signs of vulnerability.

From "Sula" by Toni Morrison

He said AI has created a "much more powerful way of uncovering vulnerabilities".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Your vulnerabilities can ebb and flow. So you want to ask, ‘Where are my vulnerabilities?’” in a given situation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

That powerful experimental models were able to discover novel vulnerabilities and breach external systems isn’t a sign of a dangerous superintelligence but of human error or negligence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Countries are seeking to secure semiconductor supply chains and bolster vulnerabilities in global chip production.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

I am not a congenitally fearful person, for which you can blame or credit my mother, who never got around to alerting me to any special vulnerabilities that went with being a girl.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

• susceptibility