woundable

Woundable is an adjective meaning capable of receiving a wound or injury. Its literal use is uncommon, but it is especially useful when discussing a person, place, object, or plan portrayed as secure yet still exposed to harm. A fortified target may be described as woundable if an attack could penetrate its defenses; a position or argument may be called woundable when it has a weakness that opponents can exploit. The word can therefore convey not simply danger but the possibility of damage, often implying that even apparent strength or protection has a flaw. In ordinary prose, vulnerable is usually more familiar and flexible, while woundable has a slightly formal, distinctive tone. It is most useful when the writer wants to focus attention on a specific point of susceptibility or on the contrast between seeming invulnerability and actual vulnerability.

Capable of being wounded or injured; susceptible to harm, damage, or attack.

Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.

Etymology of woundable

Woundable combines the English word wound, meaning an injury, with the suffix -able, meaning capable of being. Wound traces to Old English wund, 'injury' or 'hurt,' and is cognate with related words in other Germanic languages. The suffix -able entered English through Old French and ultimately comes from Latin -abilis, so woundable literally means 'able to be wounded.'

Related word forms

How woundable is actually used

Woundable is less common in everyday speech than vulnerable. It can describe a literal target or, figuratively, a position, plan, or argument that remains exposed to criticism or attack.

Easily confused with woundable

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What's the opposite of woundable?