frailty

noun

frail·​ty ˈfrāl-tē How to pronounce frailty (audio)
plural frailties
1
: the quality or state of being frail
the frailty of her health
the frailty and disability in the elderly
2
: a fault due to weakness especially of moral character
Satire … often employs irony and sarcasm to denounce the frailties and faults of mankind.Harry Shaw
Choose the Right Synonym for frailty

fault, failing, frailty, foible, vice mean an imperfection or weakness of character.

fault implies a failure, not necessarily culpable, to reach some standard of perfection in disposition, action, or habit.

a writer of many virtues and few faults

failing suggests a minor shortcoming in character.

being late is a failing of mine

frailty implies a general or chronic proneness to yield to temptation.

human frailties

foible applies to a harmless or endearing weakness or idiosyncrasy.

an eccentric's charming foibles

vice can be a general term for any imperfection or weakness, but it often suggests violation of a moral code or the giving of offense to the moral sensibilities of others.

compulsive gambling was his vice

Examples of frailty in a Sentence

the frailty of her voice We can no longer be surprised by the frailties of our political leaders.
Recent Examples on the Web As in Eliot, there is a sense of understanding human frailty without indulging it, a dryness. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024 Last year Kumar and his colleagues used machine vision to develop a frailty index for mice, an assessment that is notoriously sensitive to human error. Popular Science, 10 Jan. 2024 What, exactly, is so terrifying about Harris wasn’t clear, but Haley hit the note of Biden’s frailty again in a recent CNN interview, seeming to suggest that Trump, if nominated, would lose to Biden, and that Biden would not finish a second term. Peter Slevin, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2024 Aiming for close to 30-40 grams per meal can prevent frailty. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2024 That has been especially true since Feinstein’s frailty became fodder for a family squabble — public for all to see in court filings — over the vast fortune left behind by Feinstein’s husband, Richard Blum, who died last year, Kevin Rector reported. David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2023 Gone was the puffed chest and the raucous machismo, stripped away to demonstrate that there’s resilience in frailty, too. Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024 At the Emmys, where her presence was a surprise to many, Applegate acknowledged the physical and emotional realities of an autoimmune disorder in a room of people whose career sometimes depends on their ability to downplay the frailty of their body. Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2024 The digital music realm is convenient, and lighter than a CD book, yet too susceptible to the frailty of intangible factors. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'frailty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English frelete, freelte, borrowed from Anglo-French freleté, going back to Latin fragilitāt-, fragilitās, from fragilis "liable to break, weak, fragile" + -itāt-, -itās -ity

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of frailty was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near frailty

Cite this Entry

“Frailty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frailty. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

frailty

noun
frail·​ty ˈfrā(-ə)l-tē How to pronounce frailty (audio)
plural frailties
1
: the quality or state of being frail
2
: a weakness of character

More from Merriam-Webster on frailty

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