ˈvəlnər(ə)bəl, -nrəb- adjective
Etymology: Late Latin vulnerabilis, from Latin vulnerare to wound (from vulner-, vulnus wound) + -abilis -able; akin to Gothic wilwan to rob, wulwa robbery, Middle Low German wlete wound, Latin vellere to pluck, pull, Greek (Homeric) oulē wound, Persian valāna, vālāna wound, Hittite u̯alhḫmi I battle
1. : capable of being wounded : defenseless against injury
the problem of protecting the vulnerable human body — Lionel Whitby
2. : open to attack or damage : readily countered : inviting obvious retort, ridicule, or obloquy : assailable
a scientific statement is a vulnerable statement — M.G.Joos
weren't charged with anything perverse, simply with some affairs with women that made them vulnerable to the new Puritans — W.H.Hale
the man who can read commercial documents … is far less vulnerable to fraud — Jerome Ellison
3. : exposed to capture : likely to be reduced by military assault
a particularly vulnerable outpost — New York Herald Tribune
4. : liable to increased penalties but entitled to increased bonuses after winning a game of contract bridge