What does "frail" mean?
A girl.
Frail
/fɹeɪl/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A girl.
- Grammar: frail is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: delicate, fragile, weak, abulic.
- Useful contrasts: strapping, beefiest, beefy.
- Usage evidence: My grandmother was gradually becoming forgetful and frail.
How to use "frail"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "frail" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "frail" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "frail" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "frail" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "frail" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "delicate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "frail", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A girl. dated, slang
"She was the roughest, toughest frail, but Minnie had a heart as big as a whale."
- 2 A basket made of rushes, used chiefly to hold figs and raisins.
- 3 Synonym of farasola (“old unit of weight”).
- 4 Synonym of flail. England, dialectal, obsolete
"The scythe, the sickle and the flail (or "frail", is it is invariably called) - these should surely be incorporated in the county arms, for on their use much of the prosperity of Essex has always rested until now."
- 5 a basket for holding dried fruit (especially raisins or figs) wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 The quantity of fruit or other items contained in a frail.
- 7 the weight of a frail (basket) full of raisins or figs; between 50 and 75 pounds wordnet
- 8 A rush for weaving baskets.
Verb
- 1 To play a stringed instrument, usually a banjo, by picking with the back of a fingernail.
Adjective
- 1 Easily broken physically; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish.
"Returne with ſpeed, time paſſeth ſwift away, Our life is fraile, and we may dye to day."
- 2 Weak; infirm.
"Frail smoke of morning in the air and a sort of muffled hum that is not sound but is not silence either."
- 3 In an infirm state leading one to be easily subject to disease or other health problems, especially regarding the elderly.
- 4 Mentally fragile.
- 5 Liable to fall from virtue or be led into sin; not strong against temptation; weak in resolution; unchaste.
Adjective
- 1 easily broken or damaged or destroyed wordnet
- 2 wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings wordnet
- 3 physically weak wordnet
Example
"My grandmother was gradually becoming forgetful and frail."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "frail"?
Common synonyms include: delicate, fragile, weak, abulic, adamic, adamite.
How do you use "frail" in a sentence?
My grandmother was gradually becoming forgetful and frail.
How do you pronounce "frail"?
Pronounced /fɹeɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English frele, fraill, from Old French fraile, from Latin fragilis. Cognate to fraction, fracture, and doublet of fragile.
Etymology 2
From Middle English frayel, from Old French frael, fraiel, of unknown origin; possibly a dissimilatory variant of flael, flaiel (“flail”).