Frailness — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Related Entry: Frail (adjective)

Frail is a different word from Frailness. The synonyms below are for frail, not for frailness.

1. easily broken

   "a frail eggshell"

   similar: breakable, delicate, fragile, frangible
   related: dainty, fine, gossamer, eggshell, flimsy, slight, tenuous, brittle, crisp, crispy, crumbly, crushable, embrittled, flaky, friable, shaky, shivery, short, feeble, infirm, soft, spindly, tender, weak, inelastic, inflexible, stiff
   opposite: infrangible, nonbreakable, strong, sturdy, tough, unbreakable
   near: compact, firm, hard, rigid, solid, substantial, unyielding, elastic, flexible, resilient, rubberlike, rubbery, springy, stretch, stretchable, supple

2. easily injured without careful handling

   "be careful with your grandmother, as she's very frail and a fall would be disastrous"

   similar: delicate, fragile, sensitive, tender
   related: breakable, brittle, crushable, eggshell, frangible, friable, feeble, flimsy, puny, slight, soft, tenuous, weak, nonhardy, perishable, resistless, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding
   opposite: tough
   near: durable, firm, flinty, hard, hardy, resistant, robust, rugged, solid, sound, stiff, stout, strong, sturdy, substantial, infrangible, nonbreakable, unbreakable, hardened, inured, strengthened, tempered, toughened

3. lacking bodily strength

   "he was frail after a long battle with bronchitis"

   similar: asthenic, debilitated, delicate, down-and-out, effete, enervated, enfeebled, faint, feeble, infirm, languid, low, prostrate, prostrated, sapped, slight, soft, softened, tender, unsubstantial, wasted, weak, weakened, wimpish, wimpy
   related: disabled, incapacitated, invalid, paralyzed, broken-down, decrepit, impotent, powerless, breakable, flimsy, fragile, dizzy, groggy, rocky, unsteady, woozy, drained, exhausted, flagging, tired, weary, worn-out, damaged, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, unsound, resistless, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding
   opposite: mighty, powerful, rugged, stalwart, stout, strong
   near: able-bodied, athletic, beefy, brawny, fit, husky, muscular, sinewy, strapping, virile, hard, hardy, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sturdy, tough, fortified, hardened, inured, strengthened, toughened, energetic, energized, invigorated, vigorous, vitalized, hale, healthy, sound, capable, competent, convalescing, recovering, recuperating

4. lacking strength of will or character

   "a frail person, easily swayed by others"

   similar: characterless, effete, invertebrate, limp-wristed, milk-and-water, namby-pamby, nerveless, soft, spineless, weak, weak-kneed, weakened, weakling, wet (British), wimpish, wimpy, wishy-washy
   related: flabby, flaccid, forceless, ineffective, ineffectual, impotent, impuissant, powerless, emasculated, unnerved, lamblike, meek, pliable, submissive, corrupt, dastardly, unprincipled, unscrupulous, villainous, cowardly, craven, fainthearted, lily-livered, nebbishy, poltroon, pusillanimous, sissy, timid, infirm, irresolute, vacillating
   opposite: backboned, firm, hard, strong, tough
   near: ethical, good, moral, principled, right, righteous, upright, virtuous, determined, mettlesome, resolute, unrelenting, courageous, stalwart, stouthearted

5. small in degree

   "a frail hope of success"

   similar: fragile, negligible, off, outside, remote, slight, slim, small
   related: marginal, minimal, minor, little, tiny
   opposite: good
   near: great, large, distinct, significant, considerable, goodly, healthy, largish, respectable, sizable, substantial, tidy