1
a
: a defect in physical structure or form
a diamond with a flaw
b
: an imperfection or weakness and especially one that detracts from the whole or hinders effectiveness
vanity was the flaw in his character
a flaw in the book's plot
2
obsolete
: fragment
flawed; flawing; flaws
: to become defective
1
: a sudden brief burst of wind
the wind changed with flaws from westward—
Archibald MacLeish
Archibald MacLeish
also
: a spell of stormy weather
2
obsolete
: an outburst especially of passion
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- blemish
- blight
- blotch
- defect
- deformity
- disfigurement
- excrescence
- excrescency
- fault
- imperfection
- mar
- mark
- pockmark
- scar
Verb
Examples of flaw in a Sentence
Verb
that crack has flawed the vase to the extent that its value in the antiques market is greatly reduced
Recent Examples on the WebTribune News Service, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
The study has since been shown to have been flawed.
—Maggie Fox, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
That system may be flawed, but at least enrollment in a public school doesn’t require a waiting list or depend on the largesse of a billionaire or an employer.
—Elliot Haspel, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2024
And, if justice is already flawed in theory, its practices and the entire criminal system contribute even less towards a restorative process in society.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 24 Jan. 2024
Some election experts say its methodology is flawed.
—The Arizona Republic, 25 Feb. 2024
In late January, a Delaware judge voided his $55.8 billion Tesla compensation package — the largest in US corporate history — after an investor claimed it was flawed by conflicts of interests and misleading disclosures by the electric car company.
—Madlin Mekelburg, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2024
The institute denied that the studies were flawed, as did the lead author, James Studnicki, who is vice president and director of data analytics at the institute.
—Pam Belluck, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024
Heritage conservation in Egypt has become a source of debate following several controversial projects that had resulted in razing historic areas and flawed renovation of hundreds-year-old mosques.
—Ayat Al-Tawy, ABC News, 2 Feb. 2024
Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2024
Scientists involved in other research projects about Havana Syndrome immediately questioned those results, pointing to flaws in the new study’s methodology and sample of patients.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
The common flaw in these international peace initiatives is a failure to contend with the inability of the Israelis and the Palestinians to embrace a lasting solution.
—Tom Segev, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
There’s a fatal flaw: the audience will never be able to taste the food.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2024
For all our flaws, the U.S. is an innovative society that, in the past, has been able to recreate and reinvent itself.
—TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Discovered by a Microsoft engineer named Andres Freund, the flaw could have allowed a major cyberattack with global consequences, as corporate servers commonly run on Linux.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2024
In 2021, Chinese government hackers discovered and used flaws in Microsoft’s email servers to hack the company’s customers, later releasing the flaws publicly to spark a feeding frenzy of attacks.
—Eric Geller, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024
In January a judge rescinded his $56 billion compensation deal over governance flaws.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
Verb
Today Boeing’s leaders are tepidly admitting that this shareholders-first, cut-costs, workers-be-damned strategy was flawed.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
The study has since been shown to have been flawed.
—Maggie Fox, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
That system may be flawed, but at least enrollment in a public school doesn’t require a waiting list or depend on the largesse of a billionaire or an employer.
—Elliot Haspel, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2024
And, if justice is already flawed in theory, its practices and the entire criminal system contribute even less towards a restorative process in society.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 24 Jan. 2024
Some election experts say its methodology is flawed.
—The Arizona Republic, 25 Feb. 2024
In late January, a Delaware judge voided his $55.8 billion Tesla compensation package — the largest in US corporate history — after an investor claimed it was flawed by conflicts of interests and misleading disclosures by the electric car company.
—Madlin Mekelburg, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2024
The institute denied that the studies were flawed, as did the lead author, James Studnicki, who is vice president and director of data analytics at the institute.
—Pam Belluck, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024
Heritage conservation in Egypt has become a source of debate following several controversial projects that had resulted in razing historic areas and flawed renovation of hundreds-year-old mosques.
—Ayat Al-Tawy, ABC News, 2 Feb. 2024
Noun
The Fans First Act, which was initially introduced in December by Sens. John Cornyn, Amy Klobuchar, Marsha Blackburn, Peter Welch, Roger Wicker and Ben Ray Lujan, aims to address flaws in the current live event ticketing system.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2024
Scientists involved in other research projects about Havana Syndrome immediately questioned those results, pointing to flaws in the new study’s methodology and sample of patients.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
The common flaw in these international peace initiatives is a failure to contend with the inability of the Israelis and the Palestinians to embrace a lasting solution.
—Tom Segev, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
There’s a fatal flaw: the audience will never be able to taste the food.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2024
For all our flaws, the U.S. is an innovative society that, in the past, has been able to recreate and reinvent itself.
—TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Discovered by a Microsoft engineer named Andres Freund, the flaw could have allowed a major cyberattack with global consequences, as corporate servers commonly run on Linux.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2024
In 2021, Chinese government hackers discovered and used flaws in Microsoft’s email servers to hack the company’s customers, later releasing the flaws publicly to spark a feeding frenzy of attacks.
—Eric Geller, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024
In January a judge rescinded his $56 billion compensation deal over governance flaws.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flaw.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near flaw
Cite this Entry
“Flaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flaw. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flaw
1 of 2 noun
: a small often hidden defect
flawless
adjective
-ləs
flawlessly
adverb
flawlessness
noun
flaw
2 of 2 verb
: to make or become defective
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