fragile

[ fraj-uhl; British fraj-ahyl ]
See synonyms for: fragilefragilenessfragility on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. easily broken, shattered, or damaged; delicate; brittle; frail: a fragile ceramic container; a very fragile alliance.

  2. vulnerably delicate, as in appearance: She has a fragile beauty.

  1. lacking in substance or force; flimsy: a fragile excuse.

Origin of fragile

1
First recorded in1505–15; from Latin fragilis, equivalent to frag- (variant stem of the verb frangere break) + -ilis -ile

synonym study For fragile

1. See frail1.

Other words from fragile

  • frag·ile·ly, adverb
  • fra·gil·i·ty [fruh-jil-i-tee], /frəˈdʒɪl ɪ ti/, frag·ile·ness, noun
  • non·frag·ile, adjective
  • non·frag·ile·ly, adverb
  • non·frag·ile·ness, noun
  • non·fra·gil·i·ty, noun
  • o·ver·frag·ile, adjective
  • un·frag·ile, adjective

Words that may be confused with fragile

Words Nearby fragile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fragile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fragile

fragile

/ (ˈfrædʒaɪl) /


adjective
  1. able to be broken easily

  2. in a weakened physical state

  1. delicate; light: a fragile touch

  2. slight; tenuous: a fragile link with the past

Origin of fragile

1
C17: from Latin fragilis, from frangere to break

Derived forms of fragile

  • fragilely, adverb
  • fragility (frəˈdʒɪlɪtɪ) or fragileness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012