Words / B2

VULN-uh-r-uh-bl/ˈvʌlnərəbl/

Vulnerable means easy to harm, attack, or criticise: vulnerable candidates; vulnerable to flooding. At risk is the everyday phrase; fragile stresses breakability. Vulnerable candidates sit in a smaller room. Mix-up: valuable means worth a lot (already in the dictionary). Do not call a confident prefect vulnerable without evidence.

Meaning

Easy to harm, attack, or criticise.

Examples

• “Vulnerable candidates sit in a smaller room with a named invigilator.”
• “The estuary is vulnerable to storm surges, which is the geography sense.”

Good to know

vulnerable to + noun; a vulnerable + noun. Everyday: at risk. Trap: valuable. Safeguarding and geography. Easily harmed, not “precious”.

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