fragile
gb/fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/ us/fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/
B1
English
~ 7200
törékeny, sérülékeny, egészségileg sérülékeny, gyenge, megviselt, nyúzott, nem robusztus
B1
1
törékeny
B1
Usage pattern:
fragile [object]
Please be careful, the vase is extremely fragile.
Kérlek, légy óvatos, a váza rendkívül törékeny.
The box was clearly marked "Fragile" in big red letters.
A dobozon jól láthatóan, nagy piros betűkkel ez állt: „Törékeny”.
These wine glasses are beautiful but very fragile.
We wrapped the fragile items in bubble wrap before moving.
The museum keeps its most fragile pieces in a temperature-controlled room.
Learner examples
This cup is fragile, so do not drop it.
Ez a csésze törékeny, ezért ne ejtsd le.
The shop sent the phone in a fragile box with lots of paper inside.
Az üzlet a telefont törékeny termékekhez való, sok papírral kibélelt dobozban küldte.
I broke the fragile plate when I washed it.
They put a fragile sticker on the package.
These bottles are fragile and can break easily.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "fragile" for people when they only mean "weak." For physical weakness in people, especially the elderly, "frail" or "in poor health" is usually more natural, while this sense of "fragile" mainly talks about objects and materials.
Meaning
easily broken or damaged
Collocations
fragile glass
|fragile package
|fragile objects
|fragile items
|extremely fragile
|labelled fragile
Synonyms
delicate (Very close in meaning; often suggests needing careful handling, sometimes also with an idea of fine quality.)
|
breakable (More direct and simple; focuses only on the fact that something can be broken, without suggesting fineness or value.)
Antonyms
durable (Describes something that is strong and can last a long time without being easily damaged.)
Themes
daily life
|home
|shopping
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Easily broken or damaged if you are not careful.
Easily broken, damaged, or destroyed, especially when handled roughly or hit.
B2
2
törékeny
B2
sérülékeny
B2
Usage pattern:
fragile [system/situation/agreement]
The ceasefire has created a fragile peace that could collapse at any moment.
A tűzszünet törékeny békét teremtett, amely bármelyik pillanatban összeomolhat.
After the crisis, the country’s fragile economy slowly began to recover.
A válság után az ország sérülékeny gazdasága lassan kezdett talpra állni.
Tourists must be careful not to damage the island’s fragile ecosystem.
Their relationship was still fragile after the argument.
The company’s finances are in a very fragile state right now.
Learner examples
The peace between the two countries is fragile.
A két ország közötti béke törékeny.
The economy is fragile after the long war.
A gazdaság sérülékeny a hosszú háború után.
Our friendship is fragile after many problems.
The forest has a fragile balance of plants and animals.
His position at work is fragile because the boss is not happy with him.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "fragile" for any "bad" situation. It is best used when a situation seems calm or okay on the surface but can easily break or fail, like "fragile peace" or "fragile recovery," not just any difficult situation.
Meaning
easily damaged or unstable situation
Collocations
fragile peace
|fragile economy
|fragile ecosystem
|fragile recovery
|politically fragile
|socially fragile
Synonyms
unstable (Stresses that something can change or fail at any time; often slightly more technical or political in tone.)
|
vulnerable (Focuses on being open to harm or attack, often from outside forces.)
Antonyms
stable (Describes a situation or system that is firm and unlikely to change or fail suddenly.)
Themes
politics
|economy
|environment
|business
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Easily harmed or broken when something small changes, especially about a system, agreement, or situation.
Easily harmed, destroyed, or thrown off balance, especially of systems, agreements, or conditions that can quickly fail.
B2
3
sérülékeny
B2
Usage pattern:
[someone] is emotionally fragile
She was still emotionally fragile after the breakup.
A szakítás után még mindig lelkileg sérülékeny volt.
Be careful what you say—his confidence is very fragile right now.
Vigyázz, mit mondasz — most nagyon sérülékeny az önbizalma.
The therapist said he was in a fragile mental state and needed support.
Her sense of self-worth is fragile and easily shaken by criticism.
After the accident, he became much more emotionally fragile than before.
Learner examples
She is fragile after her divorce and cries easily.
A válása után lelkileg sérülékeny, és könnyen sírva fakad.
His feelings are fragile, so please be kind.
Nagyon sérülékeny lelkileg, ezért kérlek, légy kedves vele.
After the bad news, he was in a fragile mental state.
Their son is fragile and cannot handle more stress now.
Her confidence is fragile and breaks when people laugh at her.
Common mistake:
Learners may say "I am fragile" when they just mean "I am sad." "Fragile" suggests that someone is easily broken emotionally and needs special care, usually in a serious or sensitive situation. For normal sadness, it is better to say "I feel sad" or "I feel bad."
Meaning
emotionally delicate or sensitive
Collocations
emotionally fragile
|fragile mental state
|fragile feelings
|fragile confidence
|fragile ego
Synonyms
sensitive (Broader and more neutral; can be positive or negative, while "fragile" suggests a risk of emotional harm.)
|
vulnerable (Stresses being open to emotional hurt; often used in more serious or intimate contexts.)
Antonyms
resilient (Describes someone who can recover from emotional pain quickly and is not easily broken by stress.)
Themes
emotions
|health
|relationships
Definition
Easily hurt or upset in your feelings, especially at a certain time.
Easily upset or emotionally harmed; not mentally strong at a particular time.
B2
4
Usage pattern:
fragile health
Her grandmother is in fragile health and needs constant care.
A nagymamája törékeny egészségű, és állandó gondozásra szorul.
The baby was born prematurely and remains medically fragile.
A baba koraszülöttként jött világra, és orvosi szempontból továbbra is sérülékeny.
Years of illness have left him physically fragile.
The doctor warned that his fragile bones could break easily in a fall.
After surgery she was still too fragile to travel.
Learner examples
My grandfather is very fragile now and cannot walk far.
A nagyapám most már nagyon törékeny, és nem tud messzire gyalogolni.
The child is medically fragile and often goes to the hospital.
A gyerek egészségileg sérülékeny, és gyakran jár kórházba.
After the operation, he felt fragile and very tired.
Because of her fragile health, she stays at home a lot.
His bones are fragile, so he must be careful.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use this sense of "fragile" with strong, athletic people just to say they feel tired. For normal tiredness, use "tired" or "exhausted"; "fragile" in this sense suggests serious, long-term physical weakness or illness.
Meaning
physically weak or delicate health
Collocations
fragile health
|physically fragile
|medically fragile
|fragile bones
|frail and fragile
Synonyms
frail (Common for elderly or very weak people; slightly more physical in focus than "fragile.")
|
delicate (Similar idea of easily harmed, but can sound a bit softer or more polite about someone’s health.)
Antonyms
robust (Describes someone strong and healthy, clearly not easily made ill or injured.)
Themes
health
|ageing
|body
Definition
Having a weak body that can get sick or hurt easily.
Physically weak or delicate, with a body that is easily harmed or becomes ill.
C1
INFORMAL
5
Usage pattern:
feel/feel a bit fragile
After the office party, I was feeling pretty fragile the next morning.
A céges buli után másnap reggel eléggé gyenge voltam.
I’m a bit fragile today, so I’ll skip the loud concert.
Ma kicsit gyenge vagyok, ezért kihagyom a hangos koncertet.
She looked fragile after the flu and went back to work slowly.
He joked that he was too fragile to deal with bright lights and loud music after last night.
Learner examples
I drank too much last night and feel fragile today.
Tegnap este túl sokat ittam, és ma gyengének érzem magam.
She feels a bit fragile after her long sickness.
A hosszú betegsége után még kicsit megviseltnek érzi magát.
I am too fragile to go to a big party tonight.
He said he was fragile and needed to rest all day.
Common mistake:
Learners may think this sense is formal because it uses a normal-looking word. In fact, using "fragile" to mean "hungover" or "a bit weak and oversensitive" is informal and common in friendly conversation, not in formal writing.
Meaning
feeling weak or hungover
Collocations
feeling fragile
|a bit fragile
|pretty fragile this morning
|feeling very fragile today
Synonyms
hungover (Directly states that the bad feeling is from too much alcohol; less soft or humorous than "fragile" in this sense.)
|
wiped out (Informal for extremely tired; does not always include the sense of oversensitive or slightly sick that "fragile" has.)
Antonyms
fine (In casual speech, people often contrast feeling "fragile" with feeling "fine" or "okay.")
Themes
daily life
|health
|slang
|daily_life
Definition
Feeling very weak and not well, often after drinking too much alcohol or after an illness.
Feeling physically weak, unwell, or oversensitive, especially because of a hangover or after being sick.
C1
TECHNICAL
6
törékeny
C1
Usage pattern:
fragile [code/system/setup]
The legacy system is so fragile that even small updates can cause crashes.
Az örökölt rendszer annyira törékeny, hogy már a kisebb frissítések is összeomlást okozhatnak.
These unit tests are fragile and fail whenever we refactor the code.
Ezek az egységtesztek törékenyek, és mindig elbuknak, amikor refaktoráljuk a kódot.
We need to redesign this fragile architecture before adding new features.
The pipeline is fragile and often breaks when one service is slightly delayed.
Learner examples
The old program is fragile and breaks when we change it.
A régi program törékeny, és nem működik, ha változtatunk rajta.
Our website is fragile and goes down when many people visit it.
A weboldalunk nem elég robusztus, és leáll, amikor sokan látogatják.
The tests are fragile and fail when we make small changes.
They want to make the system less fragile and more robust.
Common mistake:
Learners may try to use this technical sense in everyday speech about people or feelings. In IT and engineering contexts, "fragile" is often a near-technical term describing poor tolerance for change, not emotion.
Meaning
easily broken by small changes (technical)
Collocations
fragile code
|fragile system
|fragile tests
|fragile architecture
|fragile setup
Synonyms
brittle (Common technical term for code or systems that break easily when changed.)
|
fragile (brittle) (In some technical writing, "fragile" and "brittle" are used almost interchangeably; both stress poor tolerance for change.)
Antonyms
robust (Technical term for code or systems that continue to work correctly even when conditions or inputs change.)
Themes
technology
|work
|science
Definition
Easy to break or make stop working when you change something small, especially about computer programs or systems.
Likely to fail or break when small changes are made to inputs, environment, or structure, especially of software or complex systems.
Grammar
Dictionary form
fragile
IPA
GB/fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/
US/fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/
Syllables & stress
fra - gile (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (fra)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: fragile
Word family
Expressions
a fragile peace
1/ə fɹˈæd͡ʒəl pˈis/
fixed phrase
peace that could easily end
A situation with no fighting now, but that could easily become war or conflict again.
Examples
- The agreement created a fragile peace in the region.
- Many people fear that the fragile peace will not last without major reforms.
feel fragile
1/fˈil fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/
fixed phrase
informal
feel weak or hungover
To feel weak, a bit sick, and very sensitive, often after drinking too much alcohol or after an illness.
Examples
- I really feel fragile today after that party.
- She said she felt too fragile to go out and stayed in bed all morning.
in a fragile state
1/ˈɪn ə fɹˈæd͡ʒəl stˈeɪt/
fixed phrase
being weak or easily harmed
To be physically or emotionally weak and easily hurt at that time.
Examples
- After the accident, she was in a very fragile state.
- He returned to work while still in a fragile state, both physically and emotionally.
handle with care
1/hˈændəl wˈɪθ kˈɛɹ/
fixed phrase
Treat gently to avoid damage
Be very careful when you touch or move this thing so it does not break.
Examples
- The box is marked 'Fragile: Handle with care'.
- These boxes contain glassware, so please handle with care.
- The box says "Fragile: handle with care" on the side.
- Please handle with care; it's very old and valuable.
- Fragile items must be handled with care during shipping.
- These samples are very delicate, so please handle them with care.