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Vulnerable

6 dictionary results for: vulnerable

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

vul·ner·a·ble

[vuhl-ner-uh-buh

l] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon: a vulnerable part of the body.

2.	open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, etc.: an argument vulnerable to refutation; He is vulnerable to bribery.

3.	(of a place) open to assault; difficult to defend: a vulnerable bridge.

4.	Bridge. having won one of the games of a rubber.

[Origin: 1595–1605; < LL vulnerābilis, equiv. to L vulnerā(re) to wound + -bilis -ble; see vulnerary

]

—Related forms

vul·ner·a·bil·i·ty, vul·ner·a·ble·ness, noun

vul·ner·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

vul·ner·a·ble (vŭl'nər-ə-bəl) Pronunciation Key
adj.

1. Susceptible to physical or emotional injury.
2. Susceptible to attack: "We are vulnerable both by water and land, without either fleet or army" (Alexander Hamilton).
3. Open to censure or criticism; assailable.
4. Liable to succumb, as to persuasion or temptation.
5. Games In a position to receive greater penalties or bonuses in a hand of bridge. In a rubber, used of the pair of players who score 100 points toward game.
1. Liable to succumb, as to persuasion or temptation.
2. Games In a position to receive greater penalties or bonuses in a hand of bridge. In a rubber, used of the pair of players who score 100 points toward game.

[Late Latin vulnerābilis, wounding, from Latin vulnerāre, to wound, from vulnus, vulner-, wound; see welə- in Indo-European roots.]

vul'ner·a·bil'i·ty, vul'ner·a·ble·ness n., vul'ner·a·bly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
vulnerable

1605, from L.L. vulnerabilis "wounding," from L. vulnerare "to wound," from vulnus (gen. vulneris) "wound," perhaps related to vellere "pluck, to tear."

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

vulnerable
adjective
1.	susceptible to attack; "a vulnerable bridge" [ant: invulnerable]
2.	susceptible to criticism or persuasion or temptation; "vulnerable to bribery"; "an argument vulnerable to refutation"
3.	capable of being wounded or hurt; "vulnerable parts of the body"

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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: vul·ner·a·ble
Pronunciation: 'v&ln-(&-)r&-b&l, 'v&l-n&r-b&l
Function: adjective
: capable ofbeing hurt : susceptible to injury or disease vulnerable to nutritional impairment —Journal of the American Medical Association> —vul·ner·a·bil·i·ty /"v&ln-(&-)r&-'bil-&t-E/ noun plural -ties

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Vulnerable

In*vul"ner*a*ble\, a. [L. invulnerabilis: cf. F. invuln['e]rable. See In- not, and Vulnerable.]

1. Incapable of being wounded, or of receiving injury.

Neither vainly hope To be invulnerable in those bright arms. --Milton.

2. Unanswerable; irrefutable; that can not be refuted or convinced; as, an invulnerable argument.

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