frangible

American  

[fran-juh-buhl] / ˈfræn dʒə bəl /

adjective

1. easily broken; breakable.

   Most frangible toys are not suitable for young children.

   Synonyms:

   frail, fragile

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frangible British  

/ ˈfrændʒɪbəl /

adjective

1. breakable or fragile

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Other Word Forms

• frangibility noun
• frangibleness noun
• nonfrangibility noun
• nonfrangible adjective

Etymology

Origin of frangible

1375–1425; late Middle English < Old French, derivative of Latin frangere to break; -ible

Example Sentences

International aviation safety guidelines state that such navigation structures should be made of frangible, or breakable, material -- a recommendation not followed at the Muan airport.

From Barron's

As a child of Los Angeles, I have a relationship with reality that is frangible at best.

From Los Angeles Times

But, before us, entombed in the banks of the stream, was a mucky tropical sea bottom, where thin, frangible layers of gray siltstone marked the passage of centuries.

From The New Yorker

The authors go deep into the patent registry to extract strange nuggets of industrial poetry: “mouth comfort” and “sealable coupling” and “frangible closure” and “upstanding thumb catches.”

From New York Times

Among other “neglected” words it wants to revive are “couth,” which means cultured, refined and well-mannered, and “frangible,” referring to something that’s fragile.

From Seattle Times