Vulnerability and resilience are key terms in the concept of transformative climate adaptation. Due to the popular and at the same time very vague usage of these terms, the concept is at risk of degenerating into yet another buzzword. To sharpen the concept, the paper examines the understanding of vulnerability and resilience in transformative climate adaptation. Due to the centrality of vulnerability, the research identifies exemplary gaps in the understanding of the term and presents first ideas for further development based on political ecological approaches. The study shows that a closer look at vulnerability reveals an initial picture of a social understanding of vulnerability that centers an unequal distribution of power. However, aspects of a global, historical and economic embedding, intersectional linkages and deep human-nature-relationship are mostly neglected. It is argued that a greater consideration of existing vulnerability research can make an important contribution to sharpening the understanding of vulnerability for transformative climate adaptation.