fragile

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈfɹæd͡ʒəl/ UK /ˈfɹæd͡ʒaɪl/ See IPA manual

adj noun Freq #5948

Meanings

1

adj
Easily broken or damaged; not strong.

She caught the fragile vase before it could shatter on the floor.
2

adj
Easily upset or destroyed; not stable.

The UN is trying to protect the fragile peace in the region.
3

adj
Weak or unwell, especially after an illness.

He still felt fragile a week after leaving the hospital.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · easily broken or damaged;... delicate

More breakable destructible flimsy frailfrailsomefrangible slim tenuous

Opposites

antifragiledurable indestructible unbreakableunfragile

Word family

Derived forms fragilelyfragilenessfragilizationfragilizehyperfragilenonfragilesuperfragileultrafragileunfragile

Related forms docilefractalfraction fractional fracture fragility frail frailty frangible obstinate rickety vulnerable

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French fragile, from Latin fragilis, formed on frag-, the root of frangere (“to break”). Cognate with fraction, fracture and doublet of frail.

*bʰreg- Proto-Indo-European fragilis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# fragile

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈfɹæd͡ʒəl
**IPA (UK):** ˈfɹæd͡ʒaɪl
**Frequency rank:** 5948

## Meanings
1. Easily broken or damaged; not strong.
2. Easily upset or destroyed; not stable.
3. Weak or unwell, especially after an illness.

## Examples
- She caught the fragile vase before it could shatter on the floor.
- The UN is trying to protect the fragile peace in the region.
- He still felt fragile a week after leaving the hospital.

## Synonyms
- breakable
- delicate
- destructible
- flimsy
- frail
- frailsome
- frangible
- slim
- tenuous

## Antonyms
- antifragile
- durable
- indestructible
- unbreakable
- unfragile

## Derived Forms
- fragilely
- fragileness
- fragilization
- fragilize
- hyperfragile
- nonfragile
- superfragile
- ultrafragile
- unfragile

## Related Forms
- docile
- fractal
- fraction
- fractional
- fracture
- fragility
- frail
- frailty
- frangible
- obstinate
- rickety
- vulnerable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰreg-
- Root: fragilis

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French fragile, from Latin fragilis, formed on frag-, the root of frangere (“to break”). Cognate with fraction, fracture and doublet of frail.

## AI Etymology
Fragile is borrowed from Middle French fragile, from Latin fragilis, formed on frag-, the root of frangere (“to break”). Cognate with fraction, fracture and doublet of frail. The historical chain includes *bʰreg- (Proto-Indo-European) and fragilis (Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as fragilely, fragileness, fragilization, and fragilize and related forms such as docile, fractal, and fraction. In present use it covers easily broken or damaged; not strong, easily upset or destroyed; not stable, and weak or unwell, especially after an illness.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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fragile

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