Having a fault, mistake, or weakness that makes something imperfect or invalid.
From Middle English flawe meaning 'a flake or fragment', possibly from Old Norse flaga meaning 'a slab'. The sense of 'defect' developed from the idea of something being chipped or broken off, creating an imperfection.
The word 'flawed' originally referred to physical chips or cracks, like flakes breaking off from stone or metal. This physical imagery perfectly captures how we think about character flaws - as if pieces of moral perfection have chipped away, leaving rough edges and vulnerabilities that make us beautifully, imperfectly human.
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