flaw1

[flaw] /flɔ/
noun
1.
a feature that mars the perfection of something; defect; fault:
beauty without flaw; the flaws in our plan.
2.
a defect impairing legal soundness or validity.
3.
a crack, break, breach, or rent.
verb (used with object)
4.
to produce a flaw in.
verb (used without object)
5.
to contract a flaw; become cracked or defective.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English flaw(e), flage, perhaps < Old Norse flaga sliver, flake
Related forms
flawless, adjective
Synonyms
1. imperfection, blot, spot. See defect. 3. fissure, rift.

flaw2

[flaw] /flɔ/
noun
1.
Also called windflaw. a sudden, usually brief windstorm or gust of wind.
2.
a short spell of rough weather.
3.
Obsolete. a burst of feeling, fury, etc.
Origin
1475-85; < Old Norse flaga attack, squall
Related forms
flawy, adjective
Examples from the web for flaw
  • And yet local cuisine didn't suffer for the rice's character flaw.
  • The photos are straight forward and technically almost perfect and without flaw.
  • Likewise, the fact that the book never discusses feathered dinosaurs or that birds are living theropod dinosaurs is a major flaw.
  • Some scientists said the original finding could be a flaw in the data.
  • It was a tremendous improvement-but with a lingering flaw.
  • These giant, intelligent, charismatic creatures have one disastrous design flaw.
  • Not a flaw in the superstructure which they are rearing escapes their vigilance.
  • It was a design flaw, and yet vacuum cleaners had been made that way for a hundred years.
  • The visual experience can suggest a happy flaw in your eyesight: incandescent cataracts.
  • My worship was unique and without flaw, a sensation shared by no more than ten thousand people in the surrounding square mile.
British Dictionary definitions for flaw

flaw1

/flɔː/
noun
1.
an imperfection, defect, or blemish
2.
a crack, breach, or rift
3.
(law) an invalidating fault or defect in a document or proceeding
verb
4.
to make or become blemished, defective, or imperfect
Derived Forms
flawless, adjective
flawlessly, adverb
flawlessness, noun
Word Origin
C14: probably from Old Norse flaga stone slab; related to Swedish flaga chip, flake, flaw

flaw2

/flɔː/
noun
1.
  1. a sudden short gust of wind; squall
  2. a spell of bad, esp windy, weather
2.
(obsolete) an outburst of strong feeling
Derived Forms
flawy, adjective
Word Origin
C16: of Scandinavian origin; related to Norwegian flaga squall, gust, Middle Dutch vlāghe
Word Origin and History for flaw
n.

early 14c., "a flake" (of snow), also in Middle English "a spark of fire; a splinter," from Old Norse flaga "stone slab, flake" (see flagstone); sense of "defect, fault" first recorded 1580s, first of character, later (c.1600) of material things; probably via notion of a "fragment" broken off.

v.

early 15c. (implied in flawed); see flaw (n.). Related: Flawing.