English Explanatory Dictionary

flaw

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A flake, fragment, or shiver.
  2. A thin cake, as of ice.
  3. A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.
  4. A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden.
  5. An inclusion, stain, or other defect of a diamond or other gemstone.
  6. A defect or error in a contract or other document which may make the document invalid or ineffective.
verb
  1. To add a flaw to, to make imperfect or defective.
  2. To become imperfect or defective; to crack or break.
noun
  1. A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration; windflaw.
  2. A storm of short duration.
  3. A sudden burst of noise and disorder

Pronunciation

/flɔː/ /flɔ/ /flɑ/ en-us-flaw.ogg /ˈflɔː/

Word forms

flaw flaws flawing flawed flawe

Etymology

From Middle English flawe, flay (“a flake of fire or snow, spark, splinter”), probably from Old Norse flaga (“a flag or slab of stone, flake”), from Proto-Germanic *flagō (“a layer of soil”), from Proto-Indo-European *plok- (“broad, flat”). Cognate with Icelandic flaga (“flake”), Swedish flaga (“flake, scale”), Danish flage (“flake”), Middle Low German vlage (“a layer of soil”), Old English flōh (“a fragment, piece”).

Synonyms

vice tumult uproar quarrel

Derived words

design flaw flawful flawless flawsome flawy Persian flaw tragic flaw

Translations

Arabic: عَيْبٌ Armenian: արատ Azerbaijani: qüsur Azerbaijani: nöqsan Azerbaijani: kəsir Azerbaijani: naqislik Bulgarian: недостатък Bulgarian: дефект Chinese Mandarin: 瑕疵 Chinese Mandarin: 毛病 Chinese Mandarin: 缺陷 Crimean Tatar: brak Czech: vada Danish: defekt Danish: fejl Dutch: fout Esperanto: difekto Esperanto: manko Estonian: viga Estonian: puudus Finnish: virhe Finnish: vika French: faille French: défaut Galician: eiva Galician: falla German: Makel German: Fehler German: Macke German: Schwachstelle German: Schlupfloch Ancient Greek: ψόγος Hungarian: hiba Hungarian: hiányosság Irish: fabht Irish: locht Italian: difetto Italian: errore Italian: imperfezione Japanese: 欠点 Japanese: 瑕疵 Korean: 결점 Latin: vitium Lithuanian: trūkumas Macedonian: мана Macedonian: фалинка Māori: tōrōkiri Middle English: chalenge Norwegian Bokmål: feil Norwegian Bokmål: brist Norwegian Nynorsk: lyte Occitan: manca Occitan: deca Occitan: sin Occitan: peca Occitan: defaut Occitan: taca Polish: wada Portuguese: falha Portuguese: defeito Portuguese: erro Romanian: cusur Romanian: defect Romanian: hibă Russian: изъя́н Russian: недоста́ток Russian: поро́к Russian: брак Russian: дефе́кт Serbo-Croatian: мана Serbo-Croatian: mana Slovak: vada Slovak: závada Slovak: chyba Slovene: napaka Slovene: pomanjkljivost Slovene: razpoka Spanish: imperfección Spanish: desperfecto Spanish: pega Swedish: fel Swedish: brist Tamil: குறை Tamil: கோளாறு Thai: ข้อบกพร่อง
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