noun
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physical or moral weakness
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(often plural) a fault symptomatic of moral weakness
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of frailty
1300–50; Middle English frailte, frelete < Old French frailete < Latin fragilitāt- (stem of fragilitās ). See frail 1, -ity
Explanation
Frailty describes a quality that's shared by a sick kitten, an elderly man, and a shoddily built go cart. They all have a delicate weakness or vulnerability and seem to require some kind of care. The Old French fraileté, or "weakness" is the root of frailty, and it in turn comes from the Latin word for "fragile," fragilis. What's interesting is that "fragility" was used in the 14th century to mean a kind of moral, rather than physical, weakness. Today frailty can be used this way too, to describe a state of having shaky — or fragile — morals.
Vocabulary lists containing frailty
The Kite Runner
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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Twelfth Night
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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.
See Examples For:
Jaafri's probable cause of death was given by the hospital and medical examiner as bronchopneumonia due to flu and frailty.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Oliver wrote powerful poems about human frailty but spent her days in the woods writing about nature, which she loved as much as she did language.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Stronger muscles also mean fewer falls and fractures, more independence in later life and less frailty as we age – all of which shape how long, and how well, we live.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Another, of a 63-year-old man who collapsed in November 2025, showed that he died from untreated sepsis, which the report said likely developed following poorly controlled diabetes, malnutrition and overall frailty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
She turned away sharply, angry with her own frailty.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
But did the Lakers fall in love with his legend and ignore his frailties?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Having explored reasons why England's on-the-ball tactics contributed to defensive frailties, it makes sense to look at how they set up off the ball.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
It is time to face the fact that Gregg failed to put the death penalty on a sound footing and that nothing can improve on Gregg’s frailties.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2026
But City's frailties in their revamped defence were exposed again in the 54th minute.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
They understand its difficulties and frailties, its glories and pleasures.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
