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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fragile in a sentence
While the caution that the fragility of this situation calls for cannot be overstated, neither can the successes made thus far.
“The fragility of the Putin regime lies in the fact that the entire regime rests in one person,” he said.
Russian Tycoon: We Must Prepare For Putin’s Inevitable Downfall | Josh Rogin | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe is stronger than she seems, despite her apparent fragility, and playing her role makes me feel like I am, too.
Inside the Obsessive Fantasy World of ‘Game of Thrones’ Cosplay | Amy Zimmerman | April 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut it was the nuance, the complex emotion, the fragility of sex that would inform her diaries.
‘Mirages’: Anaïs Nin’s Intimate, Unexpurgated Diaries | Lizzie Crocker | October 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThey try to express their vision of Valentino but with the same attributes—beauty, romance, femininity, and fragility.
Giancarlo Giammetti’s Private Life Captured in “Private GG” | Erin Cunningham | October 25, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Perhaps it was also the sombreness of her attire which gave a look of fragility—an almost painful fragility—to her appearance.
A Life Sentence | Adeline SergeantThis one was about the same size, and gave the same impression of fragility.
The Happy Unfortunate | Robert SilverbergHer form, too, seemed to have shrunken, and the loose tea-gown which she wore enhanced the fragility of her appearance.
The New Tenant | E. Phillips OppenheimThe elasticity and fragility of glass are among its most extraordinary phenomena.
The first was the fragility of the plaster surface upon which it was displayed.
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2) | Georges Perrot
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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