Fragile describes something that can be easily broken, damaged, or harmed. It can refer to physical objects or to delicate situations and emotions.
From Latin “fragilis” meaning “easily broken,” from “frangere” (to break). It came into English through French in the late Middle Ages.
We slap ‘FRAGILE’ on boxes, but the idea applies just as well to someone’s mood or trust. Often, the more valuable something is—like glass art or a relationship—the more fragile it can be.
“Fragile” has often been applied to women and girls to justify restricting their participation in physical labor, politics, and leadership. Stereotypes of women as emotionally or physically fragile have been used to exclude them from education, voting, and certain professions.
Avoid describing groups (e.g., “women are fragile”) and instead describe specific situations or needs (“this equipment is fragile,” “this person is in a fragile state after surgery”).
["delicate (object)","vulnerable (context-specific)","breakable (object)"]
Women activists and workers have repeatedly disproved narratives of female fragility by organizing, laboring, and leading under extremely harsh conditions.
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