fragility means the condition or quality of being fragile; brittleness; frangibility. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 75 out of 100.
fragility is pronounced /fɹəˈd͡ʒɪlɪti/.
Why “fragility” is a great word
FRAGILITY — [Noun] The quality of being easily broken, damaged, or destroyed; a delicate physical or spiritual constitution. From Middle French fragilité, from Latin fragilitās (“brittleness, weakness”), from fragilis (“fragile”). Unlike “brittleness,” which denotes a hard, shattering material property, or “frailty,” which emphasizes an inherent, often perishable weakness, fragility is an exquisite and pervasive vulnerability. It is the taut, perfect meniscus of a droplet trembling on a leaf; the hairline crack discovered in a beloved teacup; the precise, cold tension in a wineglass stem before it snaps—a testament that the most beautiful states are defined by the exquisite ease of their passing.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French fragilité, from Latin fragilitās. Doublet of frailty. Morphologically fragile + -ity.
noun
- The condition or quality of being fragile; brittleness; frangibility.“It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […]; perhaps to moralise on the oneness or fragility of the planet, or to see humanity for the small and circumscribed thing that it is; […].”
- Weakness; feebleness.
- Liability to error and sin; frailty.