foible means weak; feeble. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.
foible is pronounced /ˈfɔɪbəl/.
Why “foible” is a great word
FOIBLE — [Noun] A minor weakness or eccentricity in a person’s character; a slight flaw or idiosyncrasy. From Early Modern French foible (“feeble”), from Old French feble, ultimately from Latin flebilis (“lamentable, worthy of tears”). First attested in English in the 1640s. Unlike “vice” (which implies a serious moral failing) or “idiosyncrasy” (which neutrally marks a peculiar habit), a foible is a flaw softened by its smallness, often viewed with affectionate exasperation. It is the compulsion to straighten every crooked picture frame, the vanity of checking one’s reflection in every window, or the stubborn, quiet refusal to ever ask for directions—these hairline fractures in our personal architecture are not the cracks that break us, but the ones that let the light in, reminding us that perfection would be unendurable.
adj
- Weak; feeble.“The good Fencing-maſters, in France eſpecially, when they preſent a Foyle or Fleuret to their Scholars, tell him it hath two Parts, one of which he calleth the Fort or ſtrong, and the other the Foyble or weak […]”
noun
- A quirk, idiosyncrasy, frailty, or mannerism; an unusual habit that is slightly strange or silly.“Try to look past his foibles and see the friendly fellow underneath.”
- A weakness or failing of character.“Jesus is reverenced as the one man who has lived unspotted by the world, free from human foibles, able to redeem mankind by his example.”
- Part of a sword between the middle and the point, weaker than the forte.