fragile
Americanadjective
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easily broken, shattered, or damaged; delicate; brittle; frail.
a fragile ceramic container; a very fragile alliance.
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vulnerably delicate, as in appearance.
She has a fragile beauty.
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lacking in substance or force; flimsy.
a fragile excuse.
adjective
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able to be broken easily
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in a weakened physical state
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delicate; light
a fragile touch
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slight; tenuous
a fragile link with the past
Related Words
See frail 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fragile
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin fragilis, equivalent to frag- (variant stem of the verb frangere break ) + -ilis -ile
Explanation
If it's delicate and easily broken, like a rare glass vase or the feelings of an overly emotional friend, it's certainly fragile. Back in the 1500s, fragile implied moral weakness. Then around 1600, its definition broadened to mean “liable to break.” It wasn’t until the 19th century that the word started to mean “frail” and was used to describe people. Today we use it to describe things like spider webs, unstable political systems, and insecure egos. Synonyms include flimsy, vulnerable, and brittle.
Vocabulary lists containing fragile
Give Me a Break!: Fract and Frag
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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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.
These cells, known as senescent cells, survive in a fragile state by producing large amounts of a protective protein that keeps them from dying.
From Science Daily • May 13, 2026
The chips sector may not have peaked yet, but the run is looking more fragile.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
Over recent months, the clothing industry has tried not to test its luck with big price hikes, instead opting for more modest increases, amid signs of a fragile consumer rebound.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
"The UK's already fragile fiscal position means that investors will be on edge for any signs of fiscal loosening," they said.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
She did not—she could not—outlive the grief of her inheritance, but she embraced and defended the most fragile of her children from the will of the strong.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
