vulnerable
- 1More likely than others to be attacked or harmed, whether physically or emotionally.
Like an exposed flank with no shield to guard it.
Elderly residents living alone are especially vulnerable during heat waves.
Without reinforcements, the troops were vulnerable to ambush from the ridge.
Similarsusceptible, exposed, defenseless, unprotected, weak
Oppositesafe, protected, secure, resilient
Note
At its root the word is about wounds: Late Latin vulnerābilis, from Latin vulnerō, "I wound." Oddly, the Late Latin word meant "wounding," the one who does the harm, while English uses it for the one who suffers it. It compares with more and most, as in the opening of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925): "my younger and more vulnerable years." The threat usually follows with to: vulnerable to ambush.
- 2Willing to reveal one's inner thoughts and feelings, even against the instinct to protect oneself.
Like setting down your armor so someone can finally see you.
He allowed himself to be vulnerable, admitting how frightened he truly was.
Therapy works best when patients are willing to be vulnerable about their past.
Similaropen
Oppositeguarded, defensive, closed
Note
Here the exposure is chosen rather than suffered. The word goes back to Late Latin vulnerābilis, from vulnerō, "I wound," and the "open to harm" meaning keeps that sense of a target. This use turns it into a willingness to lower one's guard. It sits naturally after be, get and allow oneself to be ("It's okay to get vulnerable"), framing openness as something done on purpose.
- 3More likely than other systems to be attacked by malicious programs or viruses.
Systems running outdated software are vulnerable to known exploits.
The server was left vulnerable after the firewall was misconfigured.
Similarsusceptible, exposed, open
Oppositesecure, protected, immune
Note
In computing the word describes a system's condition, not its feelings. A machine is vulnerable when an unpatched flaw, a weak configuration or a design defect gives malicious code a way in. It works before a noun, as in a vulnerable PC with no antivirus software, and after a verb with to naming the threat, as in vulnerable to known exploits.
- 4At moderate risk of extinction in the wild, though not yet classified as endangered.
Conservationists classified the species as vulnerable after its numbers dropped sharply.
Habitat loss has left several frog species vulnerable across the region.
Note
A grade on a scale of risk, used of languages as readily as of species. It sits one step below endangered, so it is the milder label, not a stronger way of saying "at risk." The contrast is plain in "Welsh is merely a vulnerable language, but Irish and Scottish Gaelic are definitely endangered." There the word merely marks how much worse the next grade is.
Practice
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Origin
From Late Latin vulnerābilis ("injurious, wounding"), which comes from Latin vulnerō ("I wound").