vulnerability

From vulnerable +‎ -ity.^[1][2]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌvʌln(ə)ɹəˈbɪlɪti/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌvʌln(ə)ɹəˈbɪləti/, [ˌvʌln(ə)ɹəˈbɪləɾi]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌvɐln(ə)ɹəˈbɪləti/, [ˌvɐln(ə)ɹəˈbɪləɾi], /ˌvaln(ə)ɹəˈbɪləti/, [ˌvaln(ə)ɹəˈbɪləɾi]
• (proscribed) IPA^(key): /ˌvʌn(ə)ɹəˈbɪlɪti/
• Hyphenation: vul‧ner‧a‧bil‧i‧ty
• Rhymes: -ɪlɪti

vulnerability (countable and uncountable, plural vulnerabilities)

1. (uncountable) The state of being vulnerable; susceptibility to attack or injury, either physical or emotional; the state or condition of being weak or poorly defended.

   The country recognized their defence vulnerability after an airplane landed in front of the central square without any consequences.

   • 2019 January 23, Susan Scutti, “Climate change will affect gender ratio among newborns, scientists say”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     Though scientists do not know how stress affects gestation, Fukuda theorizes that the vulnerability of Y-bearing sperm cells, male embryos and/or male fetuses to stress is why “subtle significant changes in sex ratios” occur.

   • 2019, Bridget Sweet, Thinking Outside the Voice Box, page 71:

     Again, voice change is not easy and vulnerability plays a big part, but if choral teachers and adolescent singers approach it with the right mindframe, the experience can be empowering, enlightening, and restorative for all involved.

2. (countable) A specific weakness in the protections or defences surrounding someone or something.
4. (computing) A weakness which allows an attacker to reduce a system's security.
   • 2021 December 13, Sean Lyngaas, “US warns hundreds of millions of devices at risk from newly revealed software vulnerability”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     Experts told CNN it could take weeks to address the vulnerabilities and that suspected Chinese hackers are already attempting to exploit it.

• vulnerableness

• invulnerability

• vulnerability index

• vulnerable