frail

frail

adjective

Definition of FRAIL

1

easily broken <a frail eggshell>

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 <be careful with your grandmother, as she's very frail and a fall would be disastrous>

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

lacking bodily strength <he was frail after a long battle with bronchitis>

Synonyms asthenic, debilitated, delicate, down-and-out, effete, enervated, enfeebled, faint, feeble, frail, infirm, languid, low, prostrate, prostrated, sapped, slight, soft, softened, tender, unsubstantial, wasted, weakened, wimpish, wimpy

Related Words challenged, disabled, incapacitated, invalid; paralyzed; broken-down, decrepit; impotent, powerless; breakable, flimsy, fragile; dizzy, groggy, rocky, unsteady, woozy; drained, exhausted, flagging, tired, weary, worn-out; damaged, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, lame, unsound; resistless, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding

Near Antonyms able-bodied, athletic, beefy, brawny, fit, husky, muscular, sinewy, strapping, virile; hard, hardy, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sturdy, tough; fortified, hardened, inured, strengthened, toughened; energetic, energized, invigorated, vigorous, vitalized; hale, healthy, sound; capable, competent; convalescing, recovering, recuperating

Antonyms mighty, powerful, rugged, stalwart, stout, strong

4

lacking strength of will or character <a frail person, easily swayed by others>

Synonyms characterless, effete, frail, invertebrate, limp-wristed, milk-and-water, namby-pamby, nerveless, soft, spineless, weakened, weak-kneed, weakling, wet [British], wimpish, wimpy, wishy-washy

Related Words flabby, flaccid, forceless, ineffective, ineffectual; impotent, impuissant, powerless; emasculated, unnerved; lamblike, meek, pliable, submissive; corrupt, dastardly, unprincipled, unscrupulous, villainous; cowardly, craven, fainthearted, lily-livered, nebbishy, poltroon, pusillanimous, sissy, timid; infirm, irresolute, vacillating

Near Antonyms ethical, good, moral, principled, right, righteous, upright, virtuous; determined, mettlesome, resolute, unrelenting; courageous, stalwart, stouthearted

Antonyms backboned, firm, hard, strong, tough

5

small in degree <a frail hope of success>

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