fragile

fragile

adjective

Definition of FRAGILE

1

easily broken <attaching the beautiful but fragile ornaments to the Christmas tree is always a touchy operation>

Synonyms breakable, delicate, frail, frangible

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

Antonyms infrangible, nonbreakable, strong, sturdy, tough, unbreakable

2

easily injured without careful handling <babies are fragile, so remember to care for them gently>

Synonyms delicate, fragile, frail, sensitive

Related Words breakable, brittle, crushable, eggshell, frangible, friable; feeble, flimsy, puny, slight, soft, tenuous, weak; nonhardy, perishable, resistless, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding

Near Antonyms durable, firm, flinty, hard, hardy, resistant, robust, rugged, solid, sound, stiff, stout, strong, sturdy, substantial; infrangible, nonbreakable, unbreakable; hardened, inured, strengthened, tempered, toughened

Antonyms tough

3

small in degree <a fragile possibility that we might emerge from this fiasco unscathed>

Synonyms fragile, frail, negligible, off, outside, slight, slim, small

Related Words marginal, minimal, minor; little, tiny

Near Antonyms great, large; distinct, significant; considerable, goodly, healthy, largish, respectable, significant, sizable (or sizeable), substantial, tidy

Antonyms good