fragility

/frəˈdʒɪlɪɾi/

/frəˈdʒɪlɪti/

Other forms: fragilities

Fragility is a state of being delicate or breakable. The fragility of your grandmother's juice glasses might make you nervous about taking even one sip.

An object's fragility makes it likely to get broken or damaged, and a person's fragility means that he's not physically strong. New parents are often worried about the fragility of their newborn baby, and being sick can emphasize a person's fragility. Another way to use the word is to mean "vulnerable" or "sensitive." When something's delicate or frail, you can call it fragile, and both words stem from the Latin root fragilis, "brittle or easily broken."

Definitions of fragility

1. noun

   the quality of being easily damaged or destroyed
   synonyms: breakability, frangibility, frangibleness

   type of:

   vulnerability

   susceptibility to injury or attack
2. noun

   lack of physical strength
   synonyms: delicacy

   type of:

   weakness

   the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain