Vulnerable

How to spell vulnerable

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce vulnerable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does vulnerable mean?

1. adjectiveOpen to being physically, emotionally, or otherwise harmed or attacked.

Vulnerable in a sentence

• Older residents living alone are especially vulnerable during a heatwave.

• A single income leaves the household financially vulnerable if anyone loses work.

Where does vulnerable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin noun vulnus, meaning 'wound'. From it the Romans formed the verb vulnerare, 'to wound or injure', and the late Latin adjective vulnerabilis, which described something that could be wounded. English adopted it in the early 1600s, at first quite literally for a body or position open to physical attack, and later in the broader figurative senses we use today, such as being emotionally exposed or financially exposed. The buried 'ner' is the spelling trap: because the middle of the word is unstressed, writers often drop a letter and the original wound-root vulnus is no longer obvious. Knowing that the 'vulner' part literally means 'able to be wounded' helps fix that awkward cluster of letters in memory.

How the word is built

• vulner- (from Latin vulnus: wound)
• -able (capable of being)