fragile

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

fra·gile BrE [ˈfrædʒaɪl] NAmE [ˈfrædʒl] adjective
1. easily broken or damaged
•fragile china/glass/bones
•Be careful not to drop it; it's very fragile.
2. weak and uncertain; easily destroyed or spoilt
•a fragile alliance/ceasefire/relationship
•The economy remains extremely fragile.
•In her job she was used to dealing with actors' fragile egos.
3. delicate and often beautiful
•fragile beauty
•The woman's fragile face broke into a smile.
4. not strong and likely to become ill/sick
•Her father is now 86 and in fragile health.
• (BrE, informal)I'm feeling a bit fragile after last night (= not well, perhaps because of drinking too much alcohol).
Derived Word: ↑fragility

Word Origin:
late 15th cent. (in the sense ‘morally weak’): from Latin fragilis, from frangere ‘to break’. The sense ‘liable to break’ dates from the mid 16th cent.

Thesaurus:
fragile [fragile fragility] adj.
•It's fragile, so don't drop it.
delicate • • brittle •
Opp: robust
fragile/delicate/brittle bones/glass
fragile/delicate china
(a) fragile/delicate thread
the fragile/delicate ecology
Fragile or delicate? Delicate fabrics, like silk, need special care
•Use a cool wash for delicate fabrics.
Fragile fabrics need even more care, usually because they are very old.

Example Bank:
•Be careful not to drop it, it's very fragile.
•fragile habitats threatened by pollution

• Từ đồng nghĩa / Synonyms:
  flimsy, slight, tenuous, thin, delicate, frail