weak applies to deficiency or inferiority in strength or power of any sort.
felt weak after the surgery
feeble suggests extreme weakness inviting pity or contempt.
a feeble attempt to walk
frail implies delicacy and slightness of constitution or structure.
a frail teenager unable to enjoy sports
fragile suggests frailty and brittleness unable to resist rough usage.
a reclusive poet too fragile for the rigors of this world
infirm suggests instability, unsoundness, and insecurity due to old age or crippling illness.
infirm residents requiring constant care
decrepit implies being worn-out or broken-down from long use or old age.
the dowager's decrepit retainers
Example Sentences
In his old age his health became increasingly frail. a small and frail ship
Recent Examples on the WebIf one man can block the industrial development of what is, for now, the world’s hegemon, then its hegemony must be very frail indeed. Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 15 July 2022 Anyway, the original Desdemona would have been too frail to withstand the filming process, and the slight stains—markers of a life once lived—not polished enough for the silver screen. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 29 Apr. 2022 Some of the residents who’d lost antibodies were too frail to receive the news themselves, so the facility’s head nurse sent emails to their families. Chico Harlan And Mia Alberti, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2021 Some of the residents who’d lost antibodies were too frail to receive the news themselves, so the facility’s head nurse sent emails to their families. Chico Harlan And Mia Alberti, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2021 Some of the residents who’d lost antibodies were too frail to receive the news themselves, so the facility’s head nurse sent emails to their families. Chico Harlan And Mia Alberti, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2021 Some of the residents who’d lost antibodies were too frail to receive the news themselves, so the facility’s head nurse sent emails to their families. Chico Harlan And Mia Alberti, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2021 Some of the residents who’d lost antibodies were too frail to receive the news themselves, so the facility’s head nurse sent emails to their families. Chico Harlan And Mia Alberti, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2021 Some of the residents who’d lost antibodies were too frail to receive the news themselves, so the facility’s head nurse sent emails to their families. Chico Harlan And Mia Alberti, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English frele, frayle, borrowed from Anglo-French frel, fraile, going back to Latin fragilis "liable to break, weak" — more at fragile
VERBS | ADVERB | PHRASESVERBS➤be, look, seem虛弱;看上去瘦弱;似乎虛弱▸➤become, get, grow變得虛弱;開始虛弱ADVERB➤extremely, fairly, very, etc.極其/相當/非常虛弱▸➤physically身體虛弱◇Some old people become physically frail.一些老人身體變得虛弱。PHRASES➤old and frail年老體弱◇She looked old and frail.她看起來年老體弱。