1
as in fragile
easily broken
a frail eggshell
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sensitive
easily injured without careful handling
be careful with your grandmother, as she's very frail and a fall would be disastrous
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in weak
lacking bodily strength
he was frail after a long battle with bronchitis
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4
as in weakened
lacking strength of will or character
a frail person, easily swayed by others
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5
as in small
small in degree
a frail hope of success
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in weakness
the quality or state of lacking physical strength or vigor
his frailness prevented him from playing football
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in softness
the quality or state of lacking strength of will or character
don't take advantage of your younger sister's frailness of character and get her to lie for you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frail
Karl Vick, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
The outdoors is no place for a feline, especially one this small and frail.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
The figures were outgoing Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez, Santiago Carrillo, head of the Spanish Communist Party, and armed forces chief Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado who, though a frail near-70, got up to order the rebel Guards to lay down their arms.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
The fate of one of the few remaining opposition figures who was still in the country depended on the frail relationship between the Cuban government and the United States.
—Nora Gamez Torres, Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frail
Adjective
In August, Ben-Gvir released a video of himself berating a visibly frail Barghouti in his cell.
—Karl Vick, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
The outdoors is no place for a feline, especially one this small and frail.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
The figures were outgoing Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez, Santiago Carrillo, head of the Spanish Communist Party, and armed forces chief Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado who, though a frail near-70, got up to order the rebel Guards to lay down their arms.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
The fate of one of the few remaining opposition figures who was still in the country depended on the frail relationship between the Cuban government and the United States.
—Nora Gamez Torres, Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frail
Adjective
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Friday’s launch underscores the fragile security situation on the peninsula and highlights ongoing tensions as North Korea continues to expand its missile capabilities.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Moraes was operating within a young and fragile constitution ratified in 1988 after years of autocratic rule, Brandao said, one that had failed so far to stem pervasive corruption in the country.—
Ron Kampeas,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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This includes women with estrogen sensitive breast or uterine cancer, and women who are at high risk for or have had a heart attack, stroke, blood clot, or pulmonary embolism.—
Allison Aubrey,
NPR,
11 Nov. 2025
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In insulin resistance, the body's cells become less sensitive to insulin, which leads to higher blood sugar levels.—
Leigh Weddle,
Verywell Health,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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New orders contracted for a fourth month and export bookings remained weak, based on the ISM data.—
Reade Pickert Bloomberg,
Arkansas Online,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Getting too little of either can lead to weak, brittle bones, and too much can also cause problems (like kidney stones or nausea).—
T'Keyah Bazin,
Verywell Health,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The illness can be dangerous or life-threatening, particularly to older adults, those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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But babies, people with weakened immune systems, and those with chronic lung conditions are more likely to get seriously sick, developing illnesses like bronchiolitis or pneumonia.—
Evan Moore
November 5,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The founders argue that automation should be accessible to smaller operators, including neighborhood bars and private event spaces.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
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There can be 30 minutes of small waves before a sneaker wave strikes.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The problem with that is that good teams — the winning franchises — build their teams inside-out by fortifying the offensive and defensive lines, which just happen to be the areas of weakness this season.—
Omar Kelly
November 7,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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Exports weren’t the only area that saw surprise weakness.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Lily Allen strikes a pose in a delicate lace outfit on the carpet at 2025 CFDA Fashion Awards.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
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The idea worked on paper, but in practice, the alignment was extremely delicate, and the overall setup became unstable and hard to scale.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
And honestly, what could be more feeble?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Their calculations show that a feeble interaction between the inflaton field and elementary particles called gluons would be sufficient to warm up inflation.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frail. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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