fragile

fragile
fragile 1 Fragile, frangible, brittle, crisp, short, friable mean easily broken. They are, however, not often interchangeable.
Fragile (see also WEAK) is applicable to whatever must be handled or treated carefully lest it be broken
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a fragile antique chair

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a fragile dish

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a fragile flower

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I found the skeleton, or, at all events, the larger bones, rendered so fragile by the fierce heat they had been subjected to, that they fell to pieces when handled— Hudson

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this nation, molded in the heat of battle against tyranny ... is not a fragile thing— W. O. Douglas

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Frangible stresses susceptibility to being broken rather than positive weakness or delicacy of material or construction
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frangible stone

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avoid using frangible materials in ship construction

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using the buttresses of intellect and imagination to shore up the trembling pillars of our frangible era— Fadiman

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Brittle implies hardness plus frangibility because of the inflexibility of, or lack of elasticity in, the substance of which a thing is made; it also suggests susceptibility to quick snapping or fracture when subjected to pressure or strain
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glass is especially brittle

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as a person ages, his bones grow more brittle

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brittle[/i] sticks of candy

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The term is often extended to things that are dangerously lacking in elasticity or flexibility
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he would take no risks with a thing so brittle as the Roman polity, on which depended the fate of forty-four millions of men— Buchan

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Crisp usually suggests a good quality which makes a thing firm and brittle yet delicate and easily broken or crushed, especially between the teeth
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crisp toast

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crisp lettuce

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In extended use it implies freshness, briskness, cleanness of cut, incisiveness, or other qualities that suggest the opposite of limpness, languor, or slackness
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a crisp morning

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a crisp style

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a crisp answer

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a languorous work . . . with occasional interludes of crisp brilliance— Anthony West

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Short implies a tendency to crumble or break readily and is applicable to several kinds of substance
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a short biscuit is rich in butter or other fat and is crisp and crumbly when eaten

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short mortar is difficult to spread because of oversanding

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short timber is desiccated wood

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short (or hot-short) steel is brittle when heated beyond a certain point because of an excess of sulfur

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Friable is applicable to substances that are easily crumbled or pulverized
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friable soil

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friable sandstone

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friable blackboard chalk

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particles of shale, mica, or other friable and unsound minerals— Bateman

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Antonyms: tough
Contrasted words: *elastic, resilient, flexible: *strong, stout, sturdy, tenacious
2 frail, *weak, feeble, decrepit, infirm
Analogous words: impotent, *powerless: delicate, dainty (see CHOICE): evanescent, ephemeral, transient, transitory
Antonyms: durable

New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.

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  • fragile — [ fraʒil ] adj. • 1361; lat. fragilis (→ frêle), de frangere « briser » 1 ♦ Qui se brise, se casse facilement (de par sa nature même). ⇒ cassant. Fragile comme du verre : très fragile. Emballer soigneusement un objet fragile. Attention, c est… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Fragile — may refer to:In music: * Fragile (Yes album), an album by Yes released in 1971 * Fragile (Dead or Alive album), an album by Dead or Alive released in 2000 * Fragile (Saron Gas album), an album by Saron Gas released in 2000 * The Fragile , an… …   Wikipedia

  • fragile — Fragile. adjectif de tout genre. Aisé à rompre, Sujet à se casser. Fragile comme un verre. un vaisseau fragile. la porcelaine est belle, mais elle est fragile. Il signifie fig. Qui n est pas solidement establi, Qui peut aisément estre destruit.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Fragile — может означать: В музыке: Fragile, альбом Yes 1971 года. Dead or Alive 2000 года. Fragile, альбом Saron Gas 2000 года. The Fragile, альбом Nine Inch Nails 1999 года. «Fragile», песня Стинга. Fragile Records, музыкальный лейбл. В кинематографе:… …   Википедия

  • fragile — fragile, frail 1. Fragile is pronounced fraj iyl in BrE and fraj ǝl in AmE. 2. Fragile is normally used of things being easily broken, whereas frail is normally used of people being infirm or in poor physical condition: • The lectern at the… …   Modern English usage

  • Fragile — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Fragile (frágil en inglés, puede referirse a: Fragile, un álbum del grupo de rock inglés Yes. Fragile, un álbum del grupo de rock español Savia. [Fragilesnc[1]] Import Export Company in Madrid y Verona /… …   Wikipedia Español

  • fragile — [fraj′əl; ] chiefly Brit & Cdn [, fraj′īl] adj. [< OFr < L fragilis < frangere, BREAK] 1. easily broken, damaged, or destroyed 2. physically weak; frail; delicate 3. tenuous; flimsy [a fragile hope] fragility [frə jil′ə tē] n …   English World dictionary

  • Fragile — Frag ile, a. [L. fragilis, from frangere to break; cf. F. fragile. See {Break}, v. t., and cf. {Frail}, a.] Easily broken; brittle; frail; delicate; easily destroyed. [1913 Webster] The state of ivy is tough, and not fragile. Bacon. Syn: Brittle; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fragile — bezeichnet einen spanischen Horrorfilm von 2005, siehe Fragile (Film) ein Album der Band Yes, siehe Fragile (Album) Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fragile — UK US /ˈfrædʒaɪl/ US  /ˈfrædʒəl/ adjective ► easily harmed, damaged, or broken: »The fragile economy is under the pressure of floods at home and rising oil prices abroad. »The changes would be disastrous for the fragile recovery of the UK s oil… …   Financial and business terms

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