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fragile

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6 dictionary results for: fragility

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

frag·ile

[fraj-uh

l; Brit. fraj-ahyl] Pronunciation Key

–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.

[Origin: 1505–15; < L fragilis, equiv. to frag- (var. s. of frangere to break) + -ilis -ile

]

—Related forms

frag·ile·ly, adverb

fra·gil·i·ty

[fruh-jil-i-tee] Pronunciation Key, frag·ile·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. See frail¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

frag·ile (frāj'əl, -īl') Pronunciation Key
adj.

Easily broken, damaged, or destroyed; frail.
Lacking physical or emotional strength; delicate.
Lacking substance; tenuous or flimsy: a fragile claim to fame.

[French, from Old French, from Latin fragilis, from frangere, frag-, to break; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.]

frag'ile·ly adv., fra·gil'i·ty (frə-jĭl'ĭ-tē), frag'ile·ness n.

Synonyms: These adjectives mean easily broken or damaged. Fragile applies to objects that are not made of strong or sturdy material and that require great care when handled: fragile porcelain plates.
Breakable and frangible mean capable of being broken but do not necessarily imply inherent weakness: breakable toys; frangible artifacts.
Delicate refers to what is so soft, tender, or fine as to be susceptible to injury: delicate fruit.
Brittle refers to inelasticity that makes something especially likely to fracture or snap when it is subjected to pressure: brittle bones. See Also Synonyms at weak.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
fragility

1398, "moral weakness," from O.Fr. fragilité, from L. fragilitatem (nom. fragilitas) "brittleness," from fragilis "brittle, easily broken," from root of frangere "to break" (see fraction). Meaning "easily broken" first recorded in Eng. 1474. Fragile is 1513 as "liable to sin;" 1607 as "liable to break."

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