fragile
Americanadjective
-
easily broken, shattered, or damaged; delicate; brittle; frail.
a fragile ceramic container; a very fragile alliance.
-
vulnerably delicate, as in appearance.
She has a fragile beauty.
-
lacking in substance or force; flimsy.
a fragile excuse.
adjective
-
able to be broken easily
-
in a weakened physical state
-
delicate; light
a fragile touch
-
slight; tenuous
a fragile link with the past
Synonym Usage
See frail 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fragile
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin fragilis, equivalent to frag- (variant stem of the verb frangere break ) + -ilis -ile
Explanation
If it's delicate and easily broken, like a rare glass vase or the feelings of an overly emotional friend, it's certainly fragile. Back in the 1500s, fragile implied moral weakness. Then around 1600, its definition broadened to mean “liable to break.” It wasn’t until the 19th century that the word started to mean “frail” and was used to describe people. Today we use it to describe things like spider webs, unstable political systems, and insecure egos. Synonyms include flimsy, vulnerable, and brittle.
Vocabulary lists containing fragile
Give Me a Break!: Fract and Frag
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Artificial-intelligence stocks remained fragile, however, as chip makers slip in premarket trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
A super El Nino fuelling record ocean temperatures poses a "terrifying" threat to the world's fragile coral reefs, the chair of the UN's expert nature panel told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
“We are on fragile glass with the economy.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Yet bogs are fragile, and as they are drained, burned or dug up to gather fuel or create more land for agriculture, they release millennia of stored greenhouse gases into the air.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Delicate silver and gold threads unraveled and wove themselves into the fragile wings of the frozen mariposas, converting the tiny creatures into magical designs stitched meticulously into the bodice of La Llorona’s gown.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
