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/fˈɔɪbəl/ Listen

noun

Foible n.

A moral weakness; a failing; a weak point; a frailty. " A disposition radically noble and generous, clouded and overshadowed by superficial foibles."

The half of a sword blade or foil blade nearest the point; opposed to forte. (Written also faible)

Synonyms: Fault; imperfection; failing; weakness; infirmity; frailty; defect. See Fault.

adjective

Foible adj. Weak; feeble. (Obs.)

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Etymology of 'Foible'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Foible" Quotes from Famous Books

... in their "petite morale" on conjugal fidelity, appear so tolerant as to leave little sympathy for the real sufferer. Why should they else have treated domestic jealousy as a foible for ridicule, rather than a subject for deep passion? Their tragic drama exhibits no Othello, nor their comedy a Kitely, or a Suspicious Husband. Moliere, while his own heart was the victim, conformed to the national taste, by often placing the object on its comic ...

— Literary Character of Men of Genius - Drawn from Their Own Feelings and Confessions • Isaac D'Israeli

... ladies he will seek to impress by the Praise of Vivisection or the Defence of Philosophic Doubt. His social agreeableness has, indeed, been marred by the fatuous idolatry of a fashionable clique, stimulating the self-consciousness which was his natural foible; but when he can for a moment forget himself he still is excellent company, for he is genuinely amiable and thoroughly ...

— Collections and Recollections • George William Erskine Russell

... grand soin de se defaire de ses prejuges, et autres choses semblables. Ils pensent que cela suffit pour ne plus se laisser seduire a ses sens, et pour ne plus se tromper du tout. Il ne suffit pas de dire que l'esprit est foible, il faut lui faire sentir ses foiblesses. Ce n'est pas assez de dire qu'il est sujet a l'erreur, il faut lui decouvrir en quoi consistent ses erreurs."—MALEBRANCHE, ...

— A System Of Logic, Ratiocinative And Inductive • John Stuart Mill

... says Sir Walter Scott, 'has a pedigree. It is a national prerogative, as inalienable as his pride and his poverty. My birth was neither distinguished nor sordid.' What, however, was but a foible with Scott was a passion in James Boswell, who has on numerous occasions obtruded his genealogical tree in such a manner as to render necessary some acquaintance with his family and lineage. The family of Boswell, or Bosville, dates from the Normans who came with William the ...

— James Boswell - Famous Scots Series • William Keith Leask

... of his friend's foible, and remembered that when they were young many a practical joke had been played upon his friend on this account, and now he began to perceive the dangerous ground ...

— Caught In The Net • Emile Gaboriau

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