frail

frail

adjective \ˈfrāl\

Definition of FRAIL

1

: easily led into evil <frail humanity>

2

: easily broken or destroyed : fragile

3

a : physically weak

b : slight, unsubstantial

— frail·ly \ˈfrā(l)-lē\ adverb

— frail·ness noun

Examples of FRAIL

1. In his old age his health became increasingly frail.
2. a small and frail ship

Origin of FRAIL

Middle English, from Anglo-French fraile, from Latin fragilis fragile, from frangere

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to FRAIL

Synonyms

breakable, delicate, fragile, frangible

Antonyms

infrangible, nonbreakable, strong, sturdy, tough, unbreakable

Related Words

dainty, fine, gossamer; eggshell, flimsy, slight, tenuous; brittle, crisp, crispy, crumbly, crushable, embrittled, flaky (also flakey), friable, shaky, shivery, short; feeble, infirm, soft, spindly, tender, weak; inelastic, inflexible, stiff

Near Antonyms

compact, firm, hard, rigid, solid, substantial, unyielding; elastic, flexible, resilient, rubberlike, rubbery, springy, stretch, stretchable, supple

See Synonym Discussion at weak

Rhymes with FRAIL

ail, ale, bail, bale, Bâle, brail, braille, Braille, dale, fail, flail, Gael, gale, Gale, grail, hail, hale, jail, kale, mail, male, nail, pail, pale, quail, Quayle, rail, sail, sale, scale, shale, snail, stale, swale, tael, tail, taille, tale, trail, vail, vale, veil, wail, wale, whale, Yale