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
Noun (1)
noted the flaw in the diamond before I bought it
Verb
that crack has flawed the vase to the extent that its value in the antiques market is greatly reduced
Recent Examples on the Web
Tom Cullinan, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
If the underlying dataset is incomplete, biased or outdated, the AI output will be flawed, potentially leading to poor decision making.
—Eilon Reshef, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2025
Curry and Shah reported their findings to Subaru in late November, and Subaru quickly patched its Starlink security flaws.
—Ars Technica, 24 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for flaw 
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Verb
The agency used analytics to deny those claims, and many practitioners complained that the analytics were flawed.
—Tom Cullinan, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
If the underlying dataset is incomplete, biased or outdated, the AI output will be flawed, potentially leading to poor decision making.
—Eilon Reshef, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
But several researchers have highlighted methodological flaws, including errors in coding cases and possible interviewer and respondent fatigue (the later in the survey this question was asked, the more likely interviewers or subjects were to skip it, and the 2004 version posed it near the end).
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2025
Curry and Shah reported their findings to Subaru in late November, and Subaru quickly patched its Starlink security flaws.
—Ars Technica, 24 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for flaw
Dictionary Entries Near flaw
Cite this Entry
“Flaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flaw. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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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