Definitions for fragileˈfrædʒ əl; Brit. -aɪl

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Random House Webster's College Dictionary

frag•ile*ˈfrædʒ əl; Brit. -aɪl(adj.)

  1. easily broken or damaged; brittle:

    a fragile vase; a fragile alliance.

  2. vulnerably delicate in appearance:

    fragile beauty.

  3. lacking in substance or force; flimsy:

    a fragile excuse.

* Syn: See frail1.

Origin of fragile:

1505–15; < L fragilis

Princeton's WordNet

  1. delicate, fragile, frail(adj)

    easily broken or damaged or destroyed

    "a kite too delicate to fly safely"; "fragile porcelain plates"; "fragile old bones"; "a frail craft"

  2. fragile(adj)

    vulnerably delicate

    "she has the fragile beauty of youth"

  3. flimsy, fragile, slight, tenuous, thin(adj)

    lacking substance or significance

    "slight evidence"; "a tenuous argument"; "a thin plot"; a fragile claim to fame"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

  1. fragile(adjective)ˈfrædʒ əl; Brit. -aɪl

    delicate and easily damaged

    fragile glass objects

  2. fragileˈfrædʒ əl; Brit. -aɪl

    emotionally or physically weak

    his fragile health; emotionally fragile

  3. fragileˈfrædʒ əl; Brit. -aɪl

    not stable or secure

    a fragile economy; Peace in the area is fragile.

Wiktionary

  1. fragile(Adjective)

    easily broken or destroyed, and thus often of subtle or intricate structure

  2. Origin: From fragilis, formed on frag-, the root of frangere. Cognate with frail, fraction, fracture.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Fragile(adj)

    easily broken; brittle; frail; delicate; easily destroyed

The New Hacker's Dictionary

  1. fragile

    Syn brittle.


Translations for fragile

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

fragile(adjective)

easily broken

a fragile glass vase.

Get even more translations for fragile »


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