Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Capable of being broken; breakable. synonym: fragile.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Capable of being broken; liable to fracture; breakable.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Capable of being broken; brittle; fragile; easily broken.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Able to be broken; breakable; fragile.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective capable of being broken

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin frangibilis, from Latin frangere, to break; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French frangible, from Medieval Latin frangibilis, from frangere ("break"). Cognate to fraction, fracture, and fragile.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word frangible.

Examples

  • It is a place so tranquil, so steeped in frangible scenes of beauty, it defies the popular cobwebs of conflict that seem not so long ago.

    Richard Bangs: Nic' of Time Richard Bangs 2010

  • It is a place so tranquil, so steeped in frangible scenes of beauty, it defies the popular cobwebs of conflict that seem not so long ago.

    Richard Bangs: Nic' of Time Richard Bangs 2010

  • It is a place so tranquil, so steeped in frangible scenes of beauty, it defies the popular cobwebs of conflict that seem not so long ago.

    Richard Bangs: Nic' of Time Richard Bangs 2010

  • It is a place so tranquil, so steeped in frangible scenes of beauty, it defies the popular cobwebs of conflict that seem not so long ago.

    Richard Bangs: Nic' of Time Richard Bangs 2010

  • DOLAN: Well, first of all, if you're using a conventional projectile, which -- now we have what's what are called frangible bullets, which will not penetrate the fuselage.

    CNN Transcript Sep 29, 2001 2001

  • The guns have special kind of frangible bullets that are designed not to pierce the skin of an airplane.

    CNN Transcript Dec 8, 2005 2005

  • The teams use Remington 700-class bolt-action rifles, equipped with .223 - and. 243-caliber ammunition that is extremely frangible, meaning that the bullets break up inside the deer's body and don't pass through, possibly endangering a human nearby.

    Berks county news 2010

  • The teams use Remington 700-class bolt-action rifles, equipped with .223 - and. 243-caliber ammunition that is extremely frangible, meaning that the bullets break up inside the deer's body and don't pass through, possibly endangering a human nearby.

    Berks county news 2010

  • Assembly Bill 2881, sponsored by State Assemblyman David Koon (D-135), would ban the possession and use of "frangible" ammunition.

    Original Signal - Transmitting Digg 2009

  • "frangible" ammunition;, sponsored by State Assemblyman David Koon (D-135), would outlaw gun shows on public property;, sponsored by State Assemblyman David Koon (D-135), would allow the State Police to ban any firearm they deem "unsafe" at any time;, sponsored by State Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington (D-3), would prohibit the sale use or possession of .50 caliber firearms;, sponsored by State Assemblyman Clifford Crouch (R-107), provides for banning certain

    Latest Articles NRA - ILA 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • oh very cool.

    January 21, 2007

  • Thanks for introducing me to this lovely word.

    January 21, 2007

  • A material is said to be frangible if through deformation it tends to break up into fragments, rather than deforming elastically and retaining its cohesion as a single object. Common cookies or crackers are examples of frangible materials, while fresh bread, which deforms elastically, is not frangible.

    A structure is frangible if it breaks, distorts or yields on impact so as to present a minimum hazard to the vehicle. A frangible structure is usually designed to be frangible, and to be of minimum mass.

    A frangible light pole base is designed to break away when a vehicle strikes it. This lessens the risk of injury to occupants of the vehicle.

    A frangible bullet is one that is designed to disintegrate into tiny particles upon impact to minimize their penetration for reasons of range safety, to limit environmental impact, or to limit the danger behind the intended target. Frangible bullets will disintegrate upon contact with a surface harder than the bullet itself. Frangible bullets are often used by shooters engaging in close quarter combat training to avoid ricochets; targets are placed on steel backing plates that serve to completely fragment the bullet. Frangible bullets are typically made of non-toxic metals, and are frequently used on "green" ranges and outdoor ranges where lead abatement is a concern.

    June 19, 2015

  • "Rather I was a simple, a frangible petitioner, assisted only by the goddess Flora."

    Talking It Over by Julian Barnes, p 90

    March 28, 2018