Vulnerability

noun (uncountable and countable)

/ˌvʌlnərəˈbɪlɪti/

The degree to which an individual, household, or community is susceptible to harm from shocks — economic, environmental, social, or political — owing to limited capacity to cope, adapt, or recover. In Indian social policy, vulnerability is operationalised through the SECC (Socio-Economic and Caste Census, 2011) criteria and the NDMA's disaster vulnerability indices. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030), which India endorsed, defines vulnerability as intersecting with exposure and hazard to produce disaster risk, and requires nation-states to reduce vulnerability through inclusive social protection systems.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The Disaster Management Act, 2005, mandates that National and State Disaster Management Authorities identify and map populations with heightened vulnerability — including women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities — to ensure priority evacuation and relief in disaster scenarios.

Synonyms

susceptibilityfragilityexposuredefencelessnessprecariousnessrisk

Antonyms

resilienceinvulnerabilityrobustnesssecuritystrength

🌱 Word Family

vulnerable (adjective), vulnerably (adverb), invulnerable (adjective), invulnerability (noun)

🔡 Root

Latin vulnerare = to wound (vulnus/vulneris = wound); -abilis = capable of being; -ity = quality/state

📜 Etymology

From Latin vulnerabilis (woundable), from vulnerare (to wound), rooted in vulnus (wound). The word entered English in the early 17th century in a literal physical sense (capable of being wounded). Its figurative extension — susceptibility to social, economic, or environmental harm — became dominant in 20th-century development and humanitarian discourse, particularly after the 1970s famines prompted Amartya Sen's entitlement theory connecting vulnerability to structural disadvantage.

🧠 Memory Hook

VULNER-ability: the root vulnus = wound. Vulnerability = the ability to be wounded. Think of a knight with a gap in his armour — at that spot, he is vulnerable (wound-able). The bigger the gap, the greater the vulnerability.

📝 Seen in UPSC Question Papers

Prelims 2021 — Disaster Management
Mains 2021 · GS3 · 10 marks — Disaster Management
Mains 2019 · GS3 · 10 marks — Disaster Management
Mains 2016 · GS3 · 12.5 marks — Agriculture
Mains 2013 · GS3 · 10 marks — Disaster Management

Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Vulnerability” — proof this word earns its place on your list.

⚖️ Social Justice 📖 Seen in: Dalit Rights & SC/ST Atrocities Act — ...

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