fragile
gb/fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/ us/fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/
B1
Inglês
~ 7200
Aceções
0 aceções
adjective
B1
property
1
easily broken or damaged
Easily broken or damaged if you are not careful.
Padrão de uso:
fragile [object]
Erro comum:
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.
Sinónimos
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.)
Antónimos
durable (Describes something that is strong and can last a long time without being easily damaged.)
Colocações
fragile glass
|fragile package
|fragile objects
|fragile items
|extremely fragile
|labelled fragile
Temas
daily life
|home
|shopping
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Exemplos
- Please be careful, the vase is extremely fragile.
- The box was clearly marked "Fragile" in big red letters.
- 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.
Exemplos para aprendentes
- This cup is fragile, so do not drop it.
- The shop sent the phone in a fragile box with lots of paper inside.
- 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.
adjective
B2
property
2
easily damaged or unstable situation
Easily harmed or broken when something small changes, especially about a system, agreement, or situation.
Padrão de uso:
fragile [system/situation/agreement]
Erro comum:
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.
Sinónimos
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.)
Antónimos
stable (Describes a situation or system that is firm and unlikely to change or fail suddenly.)
Colocações
fragile peace
|fragile economy
|fragile ecosystem
|fragile recovery
|politically fragile
|socially fragile
Temas
politics
|economy
|environment
|business
|core_vocabulary
Exemplos
- The ceasefire has created a fragile peace that could collapse at any moment.
- After the crisis, the country’s fragile economy slowly began to recover.
- 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.
Exemplos para aprendentes
- The peace between the two countries is fragile.
- The economy is fragile after the long war.
- 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.
adjective
B2
property
3
emotionally delicate or sensitive
Easily hurt or upset in your feelings, especially at a certain time.
Padrão de uso:
[someone] is emotionally fragile
Erro comum:
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."
Sinónimos
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.)
Antónimos
resilient (Describes someone who can recover from emotional pain quickly and is not easily broken by stress.)
Colocações
emotionally fragile
|fragile mental state
|fragile feelings
|fragile confidence
|fragile ego
Temas
emotions
|health
|relationships
Exemplos
- She was still emotionally fragile after the breakup.
- Be careful what you say—his confidence is very fragile right now.
- 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.
Exemplos para aprendentes
- She is fragile after her divorce and cries easily.
- His feelings are fragile, so please be kind.
- 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.
adjective
B2
property
4
physically weak or delicate health
Having a weak body that can get sick or hurt easily.
Padrão de uso:
fragile health
Erro comum:
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.
Sinónimos
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.)
Antónimos
robust (Describes someone strong and healthy, clearly not easily made ill or injured.)
Colocações
fragile health
|physically fragile
|medically fragile
|fragile bones
|frail and fragile
Temas
health
|ageing
|body
Exemplos
- Her grandmother is in fragile health and needs constant care.
- The baby was born prematurely and remains medically fragile.
- 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.
Exemplos para aprendentes
- My grandfather is very fragile now and cannot walk far.
- The child is medically fragile and often goes to the hospital.
- 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.
adjective
informal
C1
property
5
feeling weak or hungover
Feeling very weak and not well, often after drinking too much alcohol or after an illness.
Padrão de uso:
feel/feel a bit fragile
Erro comum:
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.
Sinónimos
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.)
Antónimos
fine (In casual speech, people often contrast feeling "fragile" with feeling "fine" or "okay.")
Colocações
feeling fragile
|a bit fragile
|pretty fragile this morning
|feeling very fragile today
Temas
daily life
|health
|slang
|daily_life
Exemplos
- After the office party, I was feeling pretty fragile the next morning.
- I’m a bit fragile today, so I’ll skip the loud concert.
- 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.
Exemplos para aprendentes
- I drank too much last night and feel fragile today.
- She feels a bit fragile after her long sickness.
- I am too fragile to go to a big party tonight.
- He said he was fragile and needed to rest all day.
adjective
technical
C1
property
6
easily broken by small changes (technical)
Easy to break or make stop working when you change something small, especially about computer programs or systems.
Padrão de uso:
fragile [code/system/setup]
Erro comum:
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.
Sinónimos
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.)
Antónimos
robust (Technical term for code or systems that continue to work correctly even when conditions or inputs change.)
Colocações
fragile code
|fragile system
|fragile tests
|fragile architecture
|fragile setup
Temas
technology
|work
|science
Exemplos
- The legacy system is so fragile that even small updates can cause crashes.
- These unit tests are fragile and fail whenever we refactor the code.
- We need to redesign this fragile architecture before adding new features.
- The pipeline is fragile and often breaks when one service is slightly delayed.
Exemplos para aprendentes
- The old program is fragile and breaks when we change it.
- Our website is fragile and goes down when many people visit it.
- The tests are fragile and fail when we make small changes.
- They want to make the system less fragile and more robust.
Gramática
Forma de dicionário
fragile
IPA
GB/fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/
US/fɹˈæd͡ʒəl/
Sílabas e acento
fra - gile (2 sílabas)
Stress on 1st syllable (fra)
Formas da palavra
Adjective
- Base: fragile
Família de palavras
Expressões
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.
Exemplos
- 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.
Exemplos
- 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.
Exemplos
- 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.
Exemplos
- 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.