frailest
Least physically robust
Frailest is the superlative of frail—the most delicate, weak, or fragile among a group.
It typically describes physical weakness: the frailest patients in the ward, the frailest branch on the tree.
It can also apply to things easily damaged or broken: the frailest hopes, the frailest evidence.
Weak in body
- feebleWeak and ineffective
- debilitatedMade weak or infirm
- enfeebledMade weak or feeble
- powerlessLacking strength or authority
sapped · exhausted · faltering · tottering · shaky · rickety · unsteady · decrepit
Easily broken or damaged
- gossamerFilmy, delicate material
- diaphanousDelicately translucent
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
- fineAcceptable in quality
dainty · wispy · gauzy · sheer · translucent · lacy · airy · feathery
Out in open
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- susceptibleEasily influenced or harmed
- unprotectedWithout safeguard or shield
- endangeredAt risk of extinction
precarious · helpless · at-risk · threatened · sensitive · breakable · perishable · damageable
Temporary, soon departing
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- momentaryLasting very briefly
- short-livedLasting only briefly
- impermanentNot meant to last
passing · evanescent · transitory · brief · fugacious · vanishing · fading · dissipating
infirm
Weak in body
- feebleWeak and ineffective
- debilitatedMade weak or infirm
- enfeebledMade weak or feeble
powerless · sapped · exhausted · faltering · tottering · shaky · rickety · unsteady · decrepit · doddering
fragile
Easily broken or damaged
- gossamerFilmy, delicate material
- diaphanousDelicately translucent
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
fine · dainty · wispy · gauzy · sheer · translucent · lacy · airy · feathery · delicate
exposed
Out in open
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- susceptibleEasily influenced or harmed
- unprotectedWithout safeguard or shield
endangered · precarious · helpless · at-risk · threatened · sensitive · breakable · perishable · damageable · tenuous
transient
Temporary, soon departing
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- momentaryLasting very briefly
- short-livedLasting only briefly
impermanent · passing · evanescent · transitory · brief · fugacious · vanishing · fading · dissipating · temporal