vulnerability

[ vuhl-ner-uh-bil-i-tee ]

noun

1. openness or susceptibility to attack or harm:

   We need to develop bold policies that will reduce the vulnerability of farmers to drought and floods.

2. willingness to show emotion or to allow one’s weaknesses to be seen or known; willingness to risk being emotionally hurt:

   The foundation for open communication consists of honesty, trust, and vulnerability.

3. the condition of needing supportive or protective social services and community resources because of advanced age, poverty, disability, etc.:

   the vulnerability of disabled senior citizens.

4. Biology, Ecology. likeliness to be classified as an endangered species in the near future unless circumstances improve:

   the vulnerability of the giraffe.

Word History and Origins

Origin of vulnerability¹

First recorded in 1800–10; vulnerable ( def ) + -ity ( def )

Example Sentences

“Paying down high-interest debt should be your priority because it reduces financial vulnerability,” she said.

From Salon

The study reveals that current pesticide risk assessments, which primarily use honeybees as test subjects, fail to account for the unique vulnerabilities of wild bees that nest in soil.

From Science Daily

A study led by researchers at the University of California San Diego has discovered a vulnerability within strains of bacteria that are antibiotic resistant.

From Science Daily

The results imply that drought vulnerability analyses relying only on the historical streamflow record may severely underestimate the magnitude of potential drought events and their impacts on water storage, agriculture and municipal water supply.

From Science Daily

"It demonstrates the enduring consequences that prenatal cannabis exposure exerts on the brain's reward system, which ultimately results in a neurobiological vulnerability to opioid drugs."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• susceptibility