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:
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
The court also acquitted them of abusing Graven's psychological frailty, as he had told police prior to his death that he had consented to the stunts, Hamadi's lawyer told Reuters.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 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
Although these populations tend to have some of the world's longest life expectancies, they also experience relatively high levels of frailty in old age.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
To match his frailty and strength, he has a spirit easy to despair and quick to defiance: a fierce impatient courage.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
The midfielder was brought to Rangers to add steel, not to contribute to the mental frailties that dogged them on the run-in last season.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Even Iran’s “moderate” diplomats don’t suffer these frailties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 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
Okrent highlights the emotional frailties that coexisted with the brilliance and generosity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
“Breakfast time,” he said eventually, casually — to prove, I’m sure, that he remembered all my human frailties.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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.
