fragile
Americanadjective
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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
Related Words
See frail 1.
Other Word Forms
- fragilely adverb
- fragileness noun
- fragility noun
- nonfragile adjective
- nonfragilely adverb
- nonfragileness noun
- nonfragility noun
- overfragile adjective
- unfragile adjective
Etymology
Origin of fragile
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin fragilis, equivalent to frag- (variant stem of the verb frangere break ) + -ilis -ile
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.
Despite this history of water interaction, the researchers found that fragile organic molecules were still preserved.
From Science Daily
Given the fragile economic outlook, some economists warn that rushing to tighten monetary policy might be unwise.
That fragile backdrop could well limit how far the BOJ can push interest rates, he said in a note.
While a fragile one-year truce managed to roll back certain tariffs, the fundamental friction remains as hot as ever.
They were the opposite of the cinders, named by Clare for their fragile, lacy caps.
From Literature
Definitions 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.
