frail
frail Lexical Profile
frail Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Physically weak, delicate, and lacking in strength or vigor, especially due to advanced age or illness.
"Although her body had grown frail in her nineties, her mind remained remarkably sharp."
Easily broken, damaged, or destroyed; insubstantial or tenuous.
"The hikers carefully crossed the gorge on a frail suspension bridge made of weathered rope and thin planks."
Morally weak and easily tempted to do wrong; fallible.
"The novel explores how even the noblest intentions can falter within frail human nature."
• noun
A basket made of woven rushes, used historically for packing dried fruits such as figs and raisins, or the quantity held by such a basket.
"The merchant unloaded several frails of dried figs from the cargo ship onto the dock."
• Rhymes for frail
Word Origin & Etymology
The adjective comes from Middle English 'frele', borrowed from Old French 'fraile', which derives from Latin 'fragilis' (meaning 'easily broken', from 'frangere', 'to break'), making it a linguistic doublet of 'fragile'. The noun sense referring to a rush basket derives separately via Old French 'fraiel' from Late Latin 'fragellum'.