fragile

[ fraj-uhl; British fraj-ahyl ]

adjective

1. easily broken, shattered, or damaged; delicate; brittle; frail:

   a fragile ceramic container; a very fragile alliance.

2. vulnerably delicate, as in appearance:

   She has a fragile beauty.

3. lacking in substance or force; flimsy:

   a fragile excuse.

fragile

/ ˈfrædʒaɪl; frəˈdʒɪlɪtɪ /

adjective

1. able to be broken easily
2. in a weakened physical state
3. delicate; light

   a fragile touch

4. slight; tenuous

   a fragile link with the past

Derived Forms

• ˈfragilely, adverb
• fragility, noun

Other Words From

• fragile·ly adverb
• fra·gil·i·ty [fr, uh, -, jil, -i-tee], fragile·ness noun
• non·fragile adjective
• non·fragile·ly adverb
• non·fragile·ness noun
• nonfra·gili·ty noun
• over·fragile adjective
• un·fragile adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fragile¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin fragilis, equivalent to frag- (variant stem of the verb frangere break ) + -ilis -ile

Word History and Origins

Origin of fragile¹

C17: from Latin fragilis , from frangere to break

Synonym Study

See frail ¹.

Example Sentences

The dish is so fragile that once it’s put on the ice, it will start to melt at a certain point.

From Salon

Moving away from Moss did mean altering the fragile emotional balance of the locker room.

From Los Angeles Times

In the face of this, there's been a lot of pressure on women to do more to soothe fragile male egos.

From Salon

I’m this big, strong, tough person, and this was a very fragile sort of thing.

From Los Angeles Times

Through it all, there are fragile moments of joy.

From BBC

Related Words

• brittle
• delicate
• feeble
• flimsy
• frail
• frangible
• infirm
• shatterable
• weak