ENGLISH
REFERENCE

fragile

adj.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈfɹædʒəɫ// UK //fɹˈædʒaɪl// frag·ile

adj. easily broken or damaged. You use this to describe things that need careful handling or people who feel weak and easily hurt.

adj. easily broken, shattered, or damaged; physically or emotionally delicate. Often used to describe systems or states that are vulnerable to disruption.


SIMPLE

Be careful with those fragile glasses.

CONTEXTUAL

The delivery driver marked the box as fragile to ensure the porcelain arrived in one piece.

COMPLEX

The diplomat worked tirelessly to maintain the fragile peace treaty, knowing that a single misunderstanding could reignite the long-standing conflict.

Synonyms
Origin

Borrowed from Middle French fragile, from Latin fragilis, formed on frag-, the root of frangere (“to break”). Cognate with fraction, fracture and doublet of frail.

Usage

Typically precedes the noun it modifies or follows a linking verb like 'be' or 'seem'.

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