fragilefra‧gile /ˈfrædʒaɪl $ -dʒəl/ ●●○ adjective 
Be careful with that vase – it’s very fragile. fragile bones► see thesaurus at weak2a fragile situation is one that is weak or uncertain, and likely to become worse under pressure OPP strong: the country’s fragile economy Relations between the two countries are in a fragile state. the party’s fragile unity3fragile health a weak physical condition because of illness4thin and delicate: fragile beauty5 British English if someone feels fragile they feel ill, especially because they have drunk too much alcohol—fragility /frəˈdʒɪləti/ noun [uncountable]THESAURUSfragile easily broken or damaged: · The documents are old and very fragile.· a fragile glass case· The seventeenth century wall hangings are extremely fragile.delicate easily damaged – used especially about things that are made from thin material and look attractive: · a delicate gold necklace· The plant has delicate blue flowers.· delicate fabricsbrittle brittle hair, nails, bones etc have a hard surface, but they break easily, especially because they are not in good condition: · As you get older, your bones become more brittle.· a special shampoo for dry and brittle hairbreakable breakable objects must be handled carefully because they will break easily: · Put breakable objects out of the reach of children.· breakable ornamentsflimsy made of thin material that tears easily, or badly-made and likely to break easily: · a flimsy cotton shirt· a flimsy wooden tablefrail especially literary not strong and therefore easy to break, damage, or hurt: · The young trees are frail and need to be protected from the wind.· a frail little fishing boat· a frail old lady
WORD ORIGINfragile
Origin:
1400-1500 Latin fragilis; ➔ FRAILEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Ed's already fragile health deteriorated after he left the hospital.
- Sandra knew just what to say to protect Mike's fragile ego.
- The baby felt so fragile in his arms.
- The museum sends fragile porcelain objects to specialists to be restored.
- The parcel was marked FRAGILE -- HANDLE WITH CARE.
- This is an environmentally fragile area.
- Two ambulance attendants picked up his fragile body and put him carefully onto a stretcher.
- And in her heart she allowed hope to blossom into fragile life again.
- It could do considerable damage if it happened to hit some of the more fragile equipment.
- It is life sculpted by extreme and hostile conditions, life that is fragile and all but unknown.
- Perhaps the world has never seen a power as fragile as that of the imam.
- The area also has a range of fragile eco-systems and rare plants including button grass, alpine meadow and snow gum.
- These people can take many blows, but I, I am fragile as a butterfly.
- They are often shy, fragile, and preoccupied with feelings of self-doubt.
- This was Abba's tour de force, a brilliantly structured melodrama which put Faltskog's fragile, emotional vocal centre stage.
THESAURUS
easily broken or damaged: · The documents are old and very fragile.· a fragile glass case· The seventeenth century wall hangings are extremely fragile.
easily damaged – used especially about things that are made from thin material and look attractive: · a delicate gold necklace· The plant has delicate blue flowers.· delicate fabrics
brittle hair, nails, bones etc have a hard surface, but they break easily, especially because they are not in good condition: · As you get older, your bones become more brittle.· a special shampoo for dry and brittle hair
breakable objects must be handled carefully because they will break easily: · Put breakable objects out of the reach of children.· breakable ornaments
made of thin material that tears easily, or badly-made and likely to break easily: · a flimsy cotton shirt· a flimsy wooden table
especially literary not strong and therefore easy to break, damage, or hurt: · The young trees are frail and need to be protected from the wind.· a frail little fishing boat· a frail old lady
Longman Language Activatoreasily broken objects that are breakable break easily because they are made of glass or another thin, hard material, and must be handled carefully: · Put breakable objects out of the reach of children.· Many laboratories spend thousands of dollars a year on breakable glass equipment.
not strong and therefore very easily broken or damaged: · The parcel was marked FRAGILE -- HANDLE WITH CARE.· The museum sends fragile porcelain objects to specialists to be restored.
something that is delicate is easily broken or damaged, especially because it is made of very thin material, and is attractive to look at: · The tea was served in delicate china cups.· a delicate gold necklace
hard and easily broken, especially because of being old and dry: · Perming makes your hair more brittle.· The building's electrical wiring was worn and brittle, causing a fire hazard.
something that is crisp is hard, thin, and breaks easily when you press on it: · The crisp, dry leaves rustled underneath her feet.· Brush the tops of the loaves with cold water, which helps form the crisp crust for which French bread is famous.
physically weak someone who is weak is not strong enough to lift heavy things or do a lot of physical work, especially because they are ill: · When you have flu, you feel tired and weak for a long time.· The child was too weak to undergo a transplant operation.· I can't go running - I've got a weak heart.weak from/with: · The soldiers were weak from hunger and exhaustion.· She felt weak with emotion at the sight of him.
someone who is frail is thin and weak, especially because they are old: · a frail 85-year-old lady· She sat up a little straighter, raising her frail body in the bed.
not physically strong because of being very young, old, ill etc,: · My grandmother's very feeble now and needs someone at home full-time to look after her.· He did not remember his sister at all, except as a tiny, feeble baby.
someone who is fragile is so weak and delicate that they look as if they could easily be hurt: · The baby felt so fragile in his arms.· Two ambulance attendants picked up his fragile body and put him carefully onto a stretcher.
feeling weak in your legs and only able to walk slowly and unsteadily: · Even after the long months of therapy Owen was still very shaky.be shaky on your feet: · Her grandfather was a little shaky on his feet after the fall.shaky steps: · The baby's taken her first few shaky steps.
especially written a man or boy who is puny is small, thin, and looks very weak: · Pete was a puny little boy with short hair and glasses.· His wife was such a big strong woman, she made him look puny.
British informal a man or boy who is weedy is thin and looks weak: · Mouse got his nickname because he was small and weedy.
someone, especially a boy or young man, who is weak and is not willing to fight or defend himself: · Most of the kids were weaklings and were frightened of getting in a fight.
British informal someone, especially a boy or young man, who is thin and weak - sometimes used humorously: · Everyone called me a weed when I was at school because I was so bad at sports.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY the country’s fragile economy Relations between the two countries are in a fragile state.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a document marked ‘confidential’
the country’s fragile economy Relations between the two countries are in a fragile state. (=weak or damaged, and in danger of being destroyed completely)· Exploring for oil will damage the island’s fragile ecology.
(=weak and likely to become worse)· The country’s fragile economy depends almost exclusively on tourism.
(=easily damaged or destroyed)· Many people are worried about the impact of tourism on the region’s fragile environment.
a document marked ‘confidential’ (=not likely to last)· The fragile peace between the government and the student protestors broke when military police arrested their leader.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· These may be characterised as fragile caring units of mutual support.· Kip was as fragile as he was sturdy.· But they are heavy, and as fragile as a Centurion tank.· Perhaps the world has never seen a power as fragile as that of the imam.
· You know how fragile your bones get.· But I now understand how fragile its mighty wilderness really is.· I reminded her how fragile it was.· We will continue to cry at weddings because we know how bittersweet, how fragile is the troth.· They did not seem to realise how fragile the ceremony was.· Often enough, something would happen to remind us of how fragile her existence was.· We probably don't need Jan Pahl's pioneering research to tell us how fragile conjugal consensus is.· Much has been learned since Jan. 17, 1994, mostly how fragile and unpredictable life is.
· This crab is preserved in a rather soft clay, which makes it more fragile than the other crabs in this book.· New brick houses were being built to replace prettier but more fragile jhumpas.· She was cleverer than either of them, more elusive, more fragile.· So Hsu Fu was both more fragile and at the same time attempting to travel farther than most rafts.· The Wall Street crash of 1929 showed that large scale industry is more fragile than crofting.· Not even the fading bruise high on her cheekbone detracted from her beauty; she only looked more fragile.· This needs serious appraisal because it may indicate that recovery is far more fragile than might have been appreciated.· But opposition sources say that government control of internet use is more fragile than it might appear.
· This is the largest group and also the most fragile.· The first hears the most fragile sounds of the passing countryside, the other knows he is capable of the swiftest speed.· Industrial organizations are amongst the most fragile in the world.
· If a conventional game can appear so fragile, how much more so does drama with its less explicit rules.· She looked so fragile and blue.· Alexander Reza, at the turn of the century, had done work resembling this, but never anything so fragile.· With her arms looped around my neck, she felt so fragile and small.· So momentous, so fragile, so transient.· Husky grains dangled from the rice plants, so fragile and awkward they almost looked bashful.· Her bones were so fragile that she would break her thumb just by leaning on her walking stick.
· Shellac records were simply too fragile to be posted; so the special circumstances of war justified the first vinyl records.· In that direction lay a hope too fragile to be exposed - even to herself.· But most deep sea life is too fragile to survive such handling.· She was too fragile to form an alliance with large, strong, fully made Deborah.· She crossed her legs on a chair too fragile to accommodate such thighs, too straight for her hips.· He seemed too fragile and ancient to battle the biting winds that howled perpetually around the base of the Tower.· Cardiff residents have complained that the nearby bluffs are too fragile to withstand the pounding of more trains running close by.
· It is very fragile and dies quickly outside the body.· Great care and attention should be given during transplantation as the plants are very fragile.· The existence of two rival regimes will create instability in an already very fragile legal framework.· This plan usually falls down because the Wolf Riders are vulnerable to shooting and because small units of Goblins are very fragile.· It means: this one is very fragile.· They were very chaste, their lives felt very fragile at the moment.
NOUN· The revolution deterred visitors to Madeira and adversely affected the already fragile economy.
· Loneliness, fragile health and homelessness are just a few of the problems they face without our help.
· A fragile peace ending the seven-year civil war has been in place since last July.· The fragile peace has not dispelled old RussianChechen suspicions.
· It gave him a shock in his fragile state.· In her present fragile state, an inquisition, nomatterhow well-intentioned, would have shattered her into a million pieces.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1easily broken or damaged OPP strong: - Loneliness, fragile health and homelessness are just a few of the problems they face without our help.
Be careful with that vase – it’s very fragile. fragile bones► see thesaurus at weak2a fragile situation is one that is weak or uncertain, and likely to become worse under pressure OPP strong: the country’s fragile economy Relations between the two countries are in a fragile state. the party’s fragile unity3fragile health a weak physical condition because of illness4thin and delicate: fragile beauty5 British English if someone feels fragile they feel ill, especially because they have drunk too much alcohol—fragility /frəˈdʒɪləti/ noun [uncountable]THESAURUSfragile easily broken or damaged: · The documents are old and very fragile.· a fragile glass case· The seventeenth century wall hangings are extremely fragile.delicate easily damaged – used especially about things that are made from thin material and look attractive: · a delicate gold necklace· The plant has delicate blue flowers.· delicate fabricsbrittle brittle hair, nails, bones etc have a hard surface, but they break easily, especially because they are not in good condition: · As you get older, your bones become more brittle.· a special shampoo for dry and brittle hairbreakable breakable objects must be handled carefully because they will break easily: · Put breakable objects out of the reach of children.· breakable ornamentsflimsy made of thin material that tears easily, or badly-made and likely to break easily: · a flimsy cotton shirt· a flimsy wooden tablefrail especially literary not strong and therefore easy to break, damage, or hurt: · The young trees are frail and need to be protected from the wind.· a frail little fishing boat· a frail old lady