frailness

State of delicacy

Frailness is the quality of being frail—weak, delicate, or easily broken.

It describes physical fragility, especially in the elderly or ill: Her grandmother's frailness made travel difficult.

The word can extend to abstract weakness: the frailness of their argument.

Frailty is far more common and carries the same meanings.

weakness

infirmity

Weakness from illness or age

debilityImpaired strength or vitality
feeblenessLack of strength
enfeeblementState of growing weak

decrepitude · fragility · shakiness · unsteadiness · exhaustion · fatigue · weariness · lethargy · languor · faintness

delicacy

fragility

Ease of breaking

brittlenessProne to snapping
gossamerFilmy, delicate material
thinnessState of minimal width

flimsiness · porcelain · lace · filigree · cobweb · gauze · translucence · etherealness · airiness · featheriness

vulnerability

exposure

State of being unprotected

susceptibilityLiability to influence
defenselessnessState of being unprotected
precariousnessState of uncertain stability

insecurity · endangerment · risk · peril · openness · sensitivity · tenderness · rawness · penetrability · impressionability

Opposites

physical constitution

frailnessrobustness

Resistance to failure

sturdiness · strength · toughness · resilience · hardiness

health and vitality

frailnessvigor

Active physical strength

vitality · robustness · strength · sturdiness · health

Family

frail, frailty, frailer, frailest

Familiarity: Top 50,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G