A personality defect, weakness, or limitation that makes a character feel human and creates the friction your story needs to move.
A character flaw is any trait, habit, belief, or tendency that works against a character's best interests or causes problems for themselves and others. Flaws range from minor (impatience, vanity, stubbornness) to major (crippling jealousy, addiction, inability to trust). What makes a flaw work in fiction isn't just that it exists - it's that it creates consequences. The best character flaws are intertwined with a character's strengths, making them feel organic rather than tacked on.
Flaws are what make characters lovable, relatable, and interesting. A perfect character gives readers nothing to root for because there's no growth to hope for and no tension to feel. Flaws also drive plot naturally - a character's pride leads them into a trap, their impulsiveness ruins a relationship, their cowardice costs them an opportunity. Your character's flaws are your story's engine.
The title names the flaws directly: Darcy's pride and Elizabeth's prejudice are perfectly matched weaknesses that keep them apart until both characters grow.
Ned Stark's rigid honor - his greatest virtue - becomes the flaw that gets him killed in a world that rewards flexibility and cunning.
Fleabag's compulsive use of humor and sex as deflection keeps her from processing grief, making her both hilarious and heartbreaking.
Tom Ripley's desperate need to belong and his willingness to become anyone else reveals how a relatable insecurity can curdle into something monstrous.
Real flaws have real consequences. If the flaw never causes genuine problems or pain, it's not doing its job. Push harder.
Your character's primary flaw should connect directly to the central conflict. A fear of heights doesn't matter if your story takes place entirely at sea level.
Flaws that took years to develop shouldn't disappear after one revelation. Show the messy, nonlinear process of someone trying to overcome a deep-seated weakness.
Take your protagonist's greatest strength and push it to its extreme. If they're loyal, write a scene where loyalty makes them cover for someone who doesn't deserve it. If they're brave, write a scene where bravery becomes recklessness that hurts someone they love. Find the shadow side of their best quality.