Standard Lemma guide

frangible

adj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfɹæn(d)ʒɪb(ə)l/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈfɹænd͡ʒəbəl/
  • rhymes with -ændʒɪbəl

1

adj

Meaning 1

Able to be broken; breakable, fragile.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Something that is breakable or fragile; especially something that is intentionally made so, such as a bullet.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

capable of being broken

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the museum stored all frangible articles in locked showcases

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Late Middle English frangible, frangibil, from Middle French frangible, or from Medieval Latin frangibilis, from Latin frangere (from frangō (“to break, shatter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhreg- (“to break”)) + -ibilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon).

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: чуплив (čupliv) — able to be broken
  • Bulgarian: трошлив (trošliv) — able to be broken
  • Catalan: frangible — able to be broken
  • French: frangible — able to be broken
  • Middle French: frangible — able to be broken
  • Galician: franxíbel — able to be broken
  • Italian: frangibile — able to be broken
  • Latin: frangibilis — able to be broken
  • Middle English: frangible — able to be broken
  • Portuguese: frangível — able to be broken
  • Spanish: frangible — able to be broken