Vulnerables

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Individuals or groups susceptible to harm, damage, or adverse effects; entities lacking protection or defense against external threats; persons exposed to risks or unfavorable conditions
2. Those prone to injury or hardship due to physical, emotional, or social fragility; populations at increased risk of suffering negative impacts; beings with diminished resilience or safeguards
3. People or categories marked by openness to danger or susceptibility to unfavorable influences; subjects with insufficient means to avoid or resist harm; agents particularly sensitive to challenging circumstances

Etymology: "Vulnerables" is the plural of the noun formed from the adjective "vulnerable," so its history is that adjective's history. The root is the Latin "vulnus," meaning wound. The Latin adjective "vulnerabilis" meant capable of being wounded, and in its original sense it described a body open to a blow. The sense has travelled a long way from the battlefield. The sibling term "vulnerary," still used for remedies that heal wounds, shows that the same root once covered both injury and cure. The adjective moved from literal bodily harm to figurative exposure, describing people, positions, and systems open to attack, loss, or harm. The plural then grew out of that figurative use to name whole groups at risk.

Synonyms: susceptibles, exposures, at-risk individuals, weaklings, defenseless

Antonyms: invulnerables, strong, protected, resilient, impervious