vulnerable
adjective
Simple meaning
Easily hurt, harmed or attacked.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vuhlneruhbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈvʌlnɚəbəl
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.
adjective
More or most likely to be exposed to the chance of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
computing
More likely to be exposed to malicious programs or viruses.
Open to disclosing one's inner thoughts and feelings, acting in spite of one's instinct to self-preservation.
of a language or species
At moderate risk of extinction though not quite endangered.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: More or most likely to be exposed to the chance of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
Used this way, vulnerable 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
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- assailable , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use vulnerable
- “A vulnerable bridge.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: more
Antonyms
Sense: more
Say it better
Looking for a more precise alternative? “vulnerable” can mean several things.
I don't feel heard when I'm trying to explain something important.Can I finish this? It matters to me that you hear the whole thing.
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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.