- vulnerable (to somebody/something) weak and easily hurt physically or emotionally
- These offices are highly vulnerable to terrorist attack.
- Old people are particularly vulnerable to the flu.
- She looked very vulnerable standing there on her own.
- In cases of food poisoning, young children are especially vulnerable.
- The sudden resignation of the financial director put the company in a very vulnerable position.
- We should protect the most vulnerable members of our society.
- Animals are at their most vulnerable when searching for food for their young.
Extra Examples- Hippos are uniquely vulnerable to drought.
- She is very sensitive and rather vulnerable.
- The company is in an economically vulnerable position.
- The virus attacks the immune system, leaving your body vulnerable to infections.
- You must try not to appear vulnerable.
- Exhaustion from their long and fruitless war had left them vulnerable to attack.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- prove
- appear
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- to
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from late Latin vulnerabilis, from Latin vulnerare ‘to wound’, from vulnus ‘wound’.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
vulnerable