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ng the faculty of quick motion in the limbs; apt or ready to move; nimble; active; as, an agile boy; an agile tongue. Shaking it with agile hand. Cowper.

In an agile manner; nimbly.

Agility; nimbleness. [R.]

broken; brittle; frail; delicate; easily destroyed. The state of ivy is tough, and not fragile. Bacon.

Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body; nimble; as, an active child or animal. Active and nervous was his gait. Wordsworth.

The quality of being agile; the power of moving the limbs quickly and easily; nimbleness; activity; quickness of motion; as, strength and agility of body. They . . . trust to the agility of their wit. Bacon. Wheeling with the agility of a hawk. Sir W. Scott.

bryony, or Tamus, is called black bindweed, and the Smilax aspera, rough bindweed. The fragile bindweed bells and bryony rings. Tennyson.

Easily broken; apt to break; fragile; not tough or tenacious. Farewell, thou pretty, brittle piece Of fine-cut crystal. Cotton. Brittle silver ore, the mineral stephanite.

paper corrugated in order to give it elasticity. It is used as a wrapping material for fragile articles, as bottles.

trial; as, the crucible of affliction. Hessian crucible (Chem.), a cheap, brittle, and fragile, but very refractory crucible, composed of the finest fire clay and sand, and commonly used for a single heating; -- named from the place of manufacture.

most closely related to p,k,v, and b; as in E. five, Gr. f, L. lupus, Gr. fox, vixen ; fragile, break ; fruit, brook, v. t.; E. bear, L. ferre. See Guide to Pronunciation, sq. root 178, 179, 188, 198, 230.

m by art; relating to pottery or to molding in any soft material. Fictile earth is more fragile than crude earth. Bacon. The earliest specimens of Italian fictile art. C. Wordsworth. Fictile ware, ware made of any material which is molded or shaped while soft; hence, pottery of any sort. -- Fic"tile*ness, n. -- Fic*t…

ual or divine. "Fleshly wisdom." 2 Cor. i. 12. Much ostentation vain of fleshly arm And fragile arms. Milton.

The condition or quality of being fragile; brittleness; frangibility. Bacon.

Easily broken; fragile; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish; easily destroyed; not tenacious of life; weak; infirm. That I may know how frail I am. Ps. xxxix. 4. An old bent man, worn and frail. Lowell.

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

body, with slender, articulated arms, which are not grooved beneath and are often very fragile; -- called also Ophiuroida and Ophiuridea. See Illust. under Brittle star.

Characterized by life or liveliness; animated; sprightly; agile; brisk; ready. " A quick wit." Shak.

To be broken into fragments; to fal Some fragile bodies break but where the force is; some shatter and fly in many places. Bacon.

Having a soft or fragile shell. Soft-shell clam (Zoöl.), the long clam. See Mya. -- Soft-shelled crab. (Zoöl.) See the Note under Crab, 1. -- Soft-shelled turtle. (Zoöl.) Same as Soft tortoise, under Soft.