frail
Easily broken physicallyEasily broken physically; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish.
Recorded: Commander Keane, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Tom is old and frail.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRTranslations
7 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
Examples
20 sentencesTom is old and frail.
Tom was old and frail.
Yanni was a tiny frail guy.
Meaning
5 sensesEasily broken physically; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish.
gebrechlich, schwach
ло́мкийlómkij, непро́чныйnepróčnyj, хру́пкийxrúpkij
Weak; infirm.
zierlich
сла́быйslábyj
Liable to fall from virtue or be led into sin; not strong against temptation; weak in resolution; unchaste.
More meanings 2
In an infirm state leading one to be easily subject to disease or other health problems, especially regarding the elderly.
Mentally fragile.
- physically weak
- wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings
- easily broken or damaged or destroyed
Origin
From Middle English frele, fraill, from Old French fraile, from Latin fragilis. Cognate toFrom Middle English frele, fraill, from Old French fraile, from Latin fragilis. Cognate to fraction, fracture, and doublet of fragile.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
frailer, frailestSynonyms
5 synonymsAntonyms
1 antonymsWord family
15 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.