frail

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /freɪl/ UK /freɪl/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like flail /l/ vs /r/

adj

Meanings

1

adj
weak and delicate; easily damaged or broken

The frail old man leaned heavily on his cane.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · weak and delicate; easily... weak delicate fragile feeble infirm flimsy brittle slight

Opposites

strong robust sturdy sound vigorous

Word family

Derived forms frailtyfrailnessfrailly

Related forms fragile fracture frangible

Etymology

From Middle English frele, from Old French fraile, frele, from Latin fragilis ('easily broken'), from frangere ('to break'); a doublet of fragile.

fragilis Latin frangere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# frail

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** freɪl
**IPA (UK):** freɪl

## Meanings
1. weak and delicate; easily damaged or broken

## Examples
- The frail old man leaned heavily on his cane.

## Synonyms
- weak
- delicate
- fragile
- feeble
- infirm
- flimsy
- brittle
- slight

## Antonyms
- strong
- robust
- sturdy
- sound
- vigorous

## Derived Forms
- frailty
- frailness
- frailly

## Related Forms
- fragile
- fracture
- frangible

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fragilis
- Root: frangere

## Etymology
From Middle English frele, from Old French fraile, frele, from Latin fragilis ('easily broken'), from frangere ('to break'); a doublet of fragile.

## AI Etymology
Frail comes from Middle English frele, from Old French fraile, frele, from Latin fragilis ('easily broken'), from frangere ('to break'); a doublet of fragile. The historical trail runs through Latin fragilis and Latin frangere. In modern use it means weak and delicate; easily damaged or broken. Derived formations include frailty, frailness, frailly; related forms include fragile, fracture, frangible.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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frail

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