fragile
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.
Origin of fragile
1synonym study For fragile
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. 2023
How to use fragile in a sentence
Predictions for a catch-up rally have repeatedly failed over the years, and an uptick in virus cases and travel restrictions threaten an already fragile economic recovery.
Looking for alternatives to the U.S., investors bet on a recovering Europe | kdunn6 | August 24, 2020 | FortuneWhen we learn to be comfortable with ourselves, we are in a position to see and appreciate how others are different from us rather than just relying on them to support our fragile sense of self.
The quantum states at the heart of today’s quantum computers are fragile things.
New Algorithm Paves the Way Towards Error-Free Quantum Computing | Edd Gent | August 14, 2020 | Singularity HubThis impending paradigm shift could be a threat to the stability of our fragile system, but only if it is not fully anticipated.
The Global Work Crisis: Automation, the Case Against Jobs, and What to Do About It | Peter Xing | August 6, 2020 | Singularity HubHe used a somewhat similar imaging tool last summer in the Gulf of Alaska and can think of plenty of fragile, filmy creatures that he would love to scan.
Larvaceans’ underwater ‘snot palaces’ boast elaborate plumbing | Susan Milius | June 15, 2020 | Science News
Domestically, the prime minister maintains the dubious line that he is the only man who can keep the still-fragile peace.
The gym—a fragile collective of human ecology at the best of times—has suddenly become even more tense.
It's about the delicate fabric of the universe and how our fragile insides crumble when that fabric is torn.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe was coming out of a relationship and was in a fragile place himself.
The Houthis have done exactly this and have shaken the already fragile government of Yemen to its foundations.
Yemen’s a Model All Right—For Disaster | Michael Shank , Casey Harrity | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBang went the fragile bulb, as it splintered into a thousand atoms, and the mercury shot in sparkling globules over the table.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsA fragile arm twined itself about his neck and he kissed her on the lips.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeBut children came and died too quickly for her health and fragile beauty, and the storms of life beset her.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonA cigar should be handled daintily; it is a fragile, graceful creature—don't mar its beauty.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.That rare and curious being called I is more fragile than any porcelain jar.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
British Dictionary definitions for fragile
/ (ˈfrædʒaɪl) /
able to be broken easily
in a weakened physical state
delicate; light: a fragile touch
slight; tenuous: a fragile link with the past
Origin of fragile
1Derived 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
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