fragile

Pluralfragiles

1. 1
   adjective

   Easily broken or damaged, lacking sturdiness because of delicate material or construction.

   Like a soap bubble that bursts at the lightest touch.

   The vase is too fragile to ship without heavy padding.

   Archaeologists handled the fragile pottery with gloved hands.

   Similarbreakable, delicate, brittle, frail, flimsy

   Oppositesturdy, robust, durable, unbreakable

   Note

   The literal sense, and the one closest to the Latin: fragile came through Middle French from fragilis, built on the root of frangere, "to break." Fraction and fracture share that root, and frail is a doublet, the same Latin word arriving by another road. Both comparison patterns are in use: fragiler and fragilest stand alongside more fragile and most fragile.

2. 2
   adjectivefiguratively

   Easily disrupted or destroyed; lacking the strength to last or hold together.

   Like a truce that a single harsh word could shatter.

   The ceasefire remained fragile, threatened by the smallest provocation.

   Economic recovery is still fragile and could reverse quickly.

   Similarshaky, precarious, tenuous, delicate, unstable

   Oppositestable, secure, solid, robust

3. 3
   adjectiveUK

   Easily hurt or offended; quick to take criticism and slights personally.

   She can be rather fragile when her ideas are questioned.

   He grew fragile under the constant teasing from his colleagues.

   Similarsensitive, touchy, thin-skinned, vulnerable, insecure

   Oppositethick-skinned, resilient, tough

   Note

   Here the breakage is emotional: the person is easily wounded by criticism, teasing or a slight. It shares its British setting with the after-illness sense, but it names a disposition rather than a passing state. It therefore suits a description of someone's character, as in a very fragile person, more than a report of how they feel today. Its everyday paraphrase is thin-skinned.

4. 4
   adjectiveUK

   Feeling weak or easily upset as a result of illness or poor health.

   I'm feeling rather fragile this morning after being ill all night.

   Recovering from surgery, she remained fragile for several weeks.

   Similardelicate, weak, frail, shaky, poorly

   Oppositehealthy, robust, strong, well

   Note

   A British way of describing how you feel, not what you are: the weakness follows illness and passes as health returns. It sits naturally after feeling or looking, often softened by rather or a bit. Keep it apart from the thin-skinned meaning, also British, which describes a lasting temperament. The context usually tells them apart: a sickbed points here, a criticism points there.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   An item that can be broken easily and needs careful handling.

   Pack each fragile in bubble wrap to protect it.

   The warehouse keeps fragiles on a clearly labeled shelf.

   Similarbreakable

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