1
: easily led into evil
frail humanity
2
: easily broken or destroyed : fragile
… frail, open-cockpit biplanes …—
Jonathan Weiner
Jonathan Weiner3
a
: physically weak
a frail old woman
a frail voice
b
: slight, unsubstantial
smiled a minute frail smile—Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
frailness
noun
Examples of frail in a Sentence
In his old age his health became increasingly frail.
a small and frail ship
Recent Examples on the Web
The shelter sends some to veterinary hospitals, but others that are in need of medical attention are too frail to be transported.
—Mauricio Savarese, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 May 2024
When her own mom had gotten too frail to live on her own, my mom had taken her in, giving her my childhood bedroom.
—Sarah Stankorb, Longreads, 9 May 2024
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in the young, frail or elderly.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 8 May 2024
Like the Lake Merritt Lodge, the new site will shelter older and medically frail homeless people while providing case management services, on-site security and help finding permanent housing.
—Ethan Varian, The Mercury News, 8 May 2024
Her decision to remain Queen until the last possible moment, frail but still shaking hands with the disastrous Prime Minister Liz Truss, was personally commendable but has left Charles III with the impossible task of inheriting a legacy too large for anyone to bear.
—Alexander Larman, TIME, 5 May 2024
Though many residents, like the man who attacked Patient 2, have long histories of violence, others have grown old and frail under state supervision, and are incapable of defending themselves from such aggression.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
Perhaps one shudders to bring a frail thing into the reaches of such shadows.
—Mara Van Der Lugt, TIME, 30 Apr. 2024
Francis, who is 87 and in increasingly frail health, also talked about his funeral plans, confirming plans to simplify burial rites for him and his successors.
—Reuters, NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024
Mauricio Savarese, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 May 2024
When her own mom had gotten too frail to live on her own, my mom had taken her in, giving her my childhood bedroom.
—Sarah Stankorb, Longreads, 9 May 2024
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in the young, frail or elderly.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 8 May 2024
Like the Lake Merritt Lodge, the new site will shelter older and medically frail homeless people while providing case management services, on-site security and help finding permanent housing.
—Ethan Varian, The Mercury News, 8 May 2024
Her decision to remain Queen until the last possible moment, frail but still shaking hands with the disastrous Prime Minister Liz Truss, was personally commendable but has left Charles III with the impossible task of inheriting a legacy too large for anyone to bear.
—Alexander Larman, TIME, 5 May 2024
Though many residents, like the man who attacked Patient 2, have long histories of violence, others have grown old and frail under state supervision, and are incapable of defending themselves from such aggression.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
Perhaps one shudders to bring a frail thing into the reaches of such shadows.
—Mara Van Der Lugt, TIME, 30 Apr. 2024
Francis, who is 87 and in increasingly frail health, also talked about his funeral plans, confirming plans to simplify burial rites for him and his successors.
—Reuters, NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'frail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near frail
Cite this Entry
“Frail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frail. Accessed 18 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
frail
adjective1
: easily led into evil
frail humanity
2
: fragile
3
: not having normal strength or force
spoke in a frail voice
frailness
noun
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