VULNERABLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does vulnerable mean? 

• VULNERABLE (adjective)
  The adjective VULNERABLE has 3 senses:

1. susceptible to attack

2. susceptible to criticism or persuasion or temptation

3. capable of being wounded or hurt

  Familiarity information: VULNERABLE used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VULNERABLE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Susceptible to attack

Context example:

a vulnerable bridge

Similar:

unguarded (lacking protection or a guard)

under attack; under fire (subjected to enemy attack or censure)

threatened ((of flora or fauna) likely in the near future to become endangered)

penetrable (capable of being penetrated)

insecure; unsafe (not safe from attack)

indefensible (not able to be protected against attack)

endangered ((of flora or fauna) in imminent danger of extinction)

defenceless; defenseless (lacking protection or support)

compromising (vulnerable to danger especially of discredit or suspicion)

assailable; open; undefendable; undefended (not defended or capable of being defended)

Also:

susceptible ((often followed by 'of' or 'to') yielding readily to or capable of)

insecure; unsafe (lacking in security or safety)

dangerous; unsafe (involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm)

unprotected (lacking protection or defense)

conquerable (subject to being conquered or overcome)

Antonym:

invulnerable (immune to attack; impregnable)

Derivation:

vulnerability (susceptibility to injury or attack)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Susceptible to criticism or persuasion or temptation

Context example:

an argument vulnerable to refutation

Similar:

susceptible ((often followed by 'of' or 'to') yielding readily to or capable of)

Derivation:

vulnerability (the state of being vulnerable or exposed)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Capable of being wounded or hurt

Context example:

vulnerable parts of the body

Similar:

weak (wanting in physical strength)

Derivation:

vulnerability (the state of being vulnerable or exposed)

 Context examples 

The site was not expected to be vulnerable to such a strike.

(Human antibody reveals hidden vulnerability in influenza virus, National Institutes of Health)

All fish need dissolved oxygen, but the biggest species are particularly vulnerable to depleted oxygen levels because they need much more to survive.

(Oceans running out of oxygen at unprecedented rate, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This will be your most vulnerable area in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Inhaled nanoparticles can cross the lungs, entering the bloodstream, and accumulate in blood vessels and other bodily sites vulnerable to cardiovascular disease.

(Nanoparticles raise vascular risk by escaping the lungs, SciDev.Net)

Purine residues are especially vulnerable to cleavage of the N-glycosylic bond between the purine residue and sugar moiety of the nucleotide, leaving in DNA a nucleotide position with no base attached.

(Formation of Apurinic Site, NCI Thesaurus)

Individuals with group A blood are more vulnerable to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) bacterial infections than people with other blood groups, says a new study.

(People with type A blood at most risk of severe diarrhoea, SciDev.Net)

He explained that the systems to regulate emotions are not fully mature in adolescents, making them more vulnerable to external and internal stimuli.

(Half of mental health disorders arise in adolescence, SciDev.Net)

This new biocidal approach targets mosquitoes biting and resting outdoors as well as indoors, and may be less vulnerable to the problem of insecticide resistance.

(Genetically modified fungus hailed as malaria breakthrough, SciDev.Net)

This makes it more vulnerable to the impact of tidal forces that tug at it.

(NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory Finds Planet That Makes Star Act Deceptively Old, NASA)

The Southern Ocean is particularly vulnerable to acidification due to colder waters that increase the solubility of CO2 and upwelling that brings carbon-rich water close to the surface.

(Marine organisms in Southern Ocean will face shallower zone for life, National Science Foundation)