fragile

[ fraj-uh l; British fraj-ahyl ]
/ ˈfrædʒ əl; British ˈfrædʒ aɪl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR fragile ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

1505–15; < Latin fragilis, equivalent to frag- (variant stem of frangere to break) + -ilis -ile

OTHER WORDS FROM fragile

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fragile

brittle fragile frail1 (see synonym study at frail1)

Words nearby fragile

fractus, frae, fraenulum, fraenum, frag, fragile, fragile site, fragile x syndrome, fragile x-chromosome, fragile-x syndrome, fragility

Words related to fragileness

debility, decrepitude, delicacy, delicateness, enfeeblement, feebleness, fragility, frailty, infirmity, weakness

Example sentences from the Web for fragileness

  • She felt the slightness of her body and the fragileness of her bones.

    The Narrow House |Evelyn Scott

British Dictionary definitions for fragileness

fragile
/ (ˈfrædʒaɪl) /

adjective

able to be broken easily
in a weakened physical state
delicate; light a fragile touch
slight; tenuous a fragile link with the past

Derived forms of fragile

fragilely, adverb fragility (frəˈdʒɪlɪtɪ) or fragileness, noun

Word Origin for fragile

C17: from Latin fragilis, from frangere to break