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Synonyms
frail - 7 dictionary results
frail
1
[freyl] 
adjective, -er, est.| 1. | having delicate health; not robust; weak: My grandfather is rather frail now. |
| 2. | easily broken or destroyed; fragile. |
| 3. | morally weak; easily tempted. |
–noun
| 4. | Older Slang: Sometimes Offensive. a girl or woman. |
Related forms:
frailly, adverb
frailness, noun
Synonyms:
1, 2. feeble; breakable, frangible. Frail, brittle, fragile imply a delicacy or weakness of substance or construction. Frail applies particularly to health and immaterial things: a frail constitution; frail hopes. Brittle implies a hard material that snaps or breaks to pieces easily: brittle as glass. Fragile implies that the object must be handled carefully to avoid breakage or damage: fragile bric-a-brac.
1, 2. feeble; breakable, frangible. Frail, brittle, fragile imply a delicacy or weakness of substance or construction. Frail applies particularly to health and immaterial things: a frail constitution; frail hopes. Brittle implies a hard material that snaps or breaks to pieces easily: brittle as glass. Fragile implies that the object must be handled carefully to avoid breakage or damage: fragile bric-a-brac.
Antonyms:
1, 2. sturdy.
1, 2. sturdy.
frail
2 [freyl] –noun
| 1. | a flexible basket made of rushes, used esp. for dried fruits, as dates, figs, or raisins. |
| 2. | a certain quantity of raisins, about 75 lb. (34 kg), contained in such a basket. |
Origin:
1300–50; ME frayel, fraelle < OF frayel < ?
1300–50; ME frayel, fraelle < OF frayel < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To frail
| frail 1 (frāl) adj. frail·er, frail·est
[Middle English frele, from Old French, from Latin fragilis, from frangere, frag-, to break; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.] frail'ly adv., frail'ness n. |
| frail 2 (frāl) n.
[Middle English fraiel, from Old French.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Frail
Frail\, n. [OE. fraiel, fraile, OF. fraiel, freel, frael, fr. LL. fraellum.] A basket made of rushes, used chiefly for containing figs and raisins. 2. The quantity of raisins -- about thirty-two, fifty-six, or seventy-five pounds, -- contained in a frail. 3. A rush for weaving baskets. --Johnson.Frail
Frail\, a. [Compar. Frailer; superl. Frailest.] [OE. frele, freile, OF. fraile, frele, F. fr[^e]le, fr. L. fragilis. See Fragile.]1. Easily broken; fragile; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish; easily destroyed; not tenacious of life; weak; infirm. That I may know how frail I am. --Ps. xxxix. 4. An old bent man, worn and frail. --Lowell. 2. Tender. [Obs.] Deep indignation and compassion. --Spenser. 3. Liable to fall from virtue or be led into sin; not strong against temptation; weak in resolution; also, unchaste; -- often applied to fallen women. Man is frail, and prone to evil. --Jer. Taylor.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : frail
Spanish:
débil, delicado,
German:
gebrechlich,
Japanese:
虚弱な
frail
c.1340, "morally weak," from O.Fr. frele, from L. fragilis "easily broken" (see fragility). Sense of "liable to break" is first recorded in Eng. 1382. The U.S. slang noun meaning "a woman" is attested from 1908.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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