flaw
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A defect, fault.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
flawIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflɔ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden.
A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.
A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration; windflaw.
A storm of short duration.
A sudden burst of noise and disorder
in particular
An inclusion, stain, or other defect of a diamond or other gemstone.
verb
intransitive
To become imperfect or defective; to crack or break.
Add a flaw or blemish to; make imperfect or defective
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden.
Used this way, flaw is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use flaw
- “A flaw caused the crystal to shatter.”noun
- “He had his flaws, but he was great nonetheless.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: defect or fault or or imperfection
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.