fractus
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of fractus
First recorded in 1965–70; from Latin frāctus, past participle of frangere “to break”; cf. break
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.
A cumulus, for example, might just be a cumulus; or it might be a cumulus fractus, if its edges are tattered; or a cumulus pileus, if a smaller cloud appears over it like a hood.
From New York Times • May 4, 2016
This foreboding scene, pictured by Richard Robotham, depicts a cumulus fractus under the base of well-developed cumulus clouds.
From BBC • Jul. 30, 2011
They literally realize the idea of the poet— "Si fractus illabatur orbis, Impavidum ferient ruinæ."
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 363, January, 1846 by Various
Justum, si fractus illabatur orbis, inpavidum ferient ruinae.
From Sir Thomas More by Shakespeare (spurious and doubtful works)
His concluding hyperbole is almost a literal version of the Roman bard:— "Si fractus illabatur orbis, Impavidum ferient ruin�."
From History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, Vols. 1 and 2 by Prescott, William Hickling
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.
