<B>fractural, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or like a fracture; caused by a fracture. </DL>
<A NAME="fracturation">
<B>fracturation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the breaking or fracturing within a mass of rock. </DL>
<A NAME="fracture">
<B>fracture, </B>noun, verb, <B>-tured,</B> <B>-turing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act or fact of breaking a bone or cartilage. <BR> <I>Ex. In the comminuted fracture, the bone splinters (Claude Lambert).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the act or fact of breaking or the state of being broken. <BR> <I>Ex. a fracture of the ice, a fracture of friendly relations.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the result of breaking; break or crack. <BR> <I>Ex. The fracture in the foundation is widening.</I> (SYN) division, split. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Mineralogy.) <DD><B> a. </B>the way in which a mineral breaks. <DD><B> b. </B>the appearance of the surface of a freshly broken mineral. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to break or crack. <DD><B> 2. </B>to cause a fracture in (a bone or cartilage). <BR> <I>Ex. The boy fell from a tree and fractured his arm.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S. Slang.) to overwhelm with humor, feeling, magnificence, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. Big receptions and honors just fracture me.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to undergo fracture; crack. <BR> <I>Ex. Then propellers bend, sometimes fracture, sometimes break, in the crush of hardpacked pack ice (Newsweek).</I> adj. <B>fracturable.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fractured">
<B>fractured, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Informal.) (of a language) spoken or written with disregard for conventional syntax, meanings, idiom, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. the Yankee manager snapped in his best fractured English: "I ain't gonna comment about a guy which made $100,000 writin' how this club lost" (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<B>fraenum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-na.</B> =frenum.</DL>
<A NAME="frag">
<B>frag, </B>verb, <B>fragged,</B> <B>fragging,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Military Slang.) <DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> to kill or injure (one's superior officer or a fellow soldier), especially by means of a fragmentation grenade. <DD><I>noun </I> a fragmentation grenade. </DL>
<A NAME="fragile">
<B>fragile, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> easily broken, damaged, or destroyed; delicate; frail. <BR> <I>Ex. Be careful; that thin glass is fragile. She had a fragile beauty.</I> (SYN) breakable, weak, perishable. adv. <B>fragilely.</B> noun <B>fragileness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fragilexsyndrome">
<B>fragile X syndrome,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a common form of inherited mental retardation, believed to be related to a defective gene on the X chromosome. <BR> <I>Ex. A clue to the unusual inheritance pattern of fragile X syndrome was provided by researchers ... [who] found that the DNA fragment that is prone to breaking away from the X chromosome is longer in people with the syndrome than in those without it (J.D. McInerney).</I> </DL>
<B>fragment, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a part broken off; piece of something broken. <BR> <I>Ex. When she broke the dish, she tried to put the fragments back together.</I> (SYN) chip, scrap, bit. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) an incomplete or disconnected part. <BR> <I>Ex. Because of the noise he could hear only fragments of the conversation.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a part of an incomplete or unfinished work. <BR> <I>Ex. Many Old English poems exist as fragments.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) a surviving part of something lost or no longer in existence. <BR> <I>Ex. A land of old ... where fragments of forgotten peoples dwelt (Tennyson).</I> <DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> to break or divide into fragments. <BR> <I>Ex. ... a Europe fragmented by history (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fragmental">
<B>fragmental, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=fragmentary.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Geology.) formed from older rocks; clastic. adv. <B>fragmentally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fragmentary">
<B>fragmentary, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>made up of fragments; incomplete or disconnected. <BR> <I>Ex. fragmentary remains of a temple, (Figurative.) fragmentary evidence. (Figurative.) The injured man could give only a fragmentary account of the accident.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Geology.) <B>=fragmental.</B> adv. <B>fragmentarily.</B> noun <B>fragmentariness.</B> </DL>
<B>fragmentation, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act or process of breaking up into fragments or parts. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) I deplore nothing more than this fragmentation of our democratic society into special interest groups--labor, farmers, business (Adlai E. Stevenson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a bursting and scattering of certain bombs, grenades, or artillery shells. <DD><I>adj. </I> that throws bits of metal in all directions as it bursts. <BR> <I>Ex. a fragmentation grenade.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fragmentationbomb">
<B>fragmentation bomb,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a bomb or grenade that throws bits of metal in all directions as it bursts. </DL>
<B>fragmentist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a writer of fragments or of works which survive only in fragments. </DL>
<A NAME="fragmentize">
<B>fragmentize, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to break into fragments. <BR> <I>Ex. The fortnight recess from studies fragmentizes the fall semester already burdened by the existing holidays (New York Times).</I> noun <B>fragmentization.</B> noun <B>fragmentizer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fragrance">
<B>fragrance, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a sweet smell; pleasing odor. <BR> <I>Ex. the fragrance of flowers or of perfume.</I> (SYN) aroma, perfume. </DL>
<A NAME="fragrancy">
<B>fragrancy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cies.</B> =fragrance.</DL>
<A NAME="fragrant">
<B>fragrant, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having or giving off a pleasant odor; sweet-smelling. <BR> <I>Ex. This rose is fragrant.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. Their fragrant memory will outlast the tomb (William Cowper).</I> adv. <B>fragrantly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fraidycat">
<B>fraidy cat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) (used by children) a person who is easily frightened; timorous person. </DL>
<A NAME="frail">
<B>frail</B> (1), adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>slender and not very strong; weak. <BR> <I>Ex. a frail and sickly child. These words ... seem too soon from a frail memory fallen away (R. Ellis).</I> (SYN) delicate. <DD><B> 2. </B>easily broken, giving way, damaged, or destroyed. <BR> <I>Ex. Be careful; those branches are a very frail support.</I> (SYN) brittle. <DD><B> 3. </B>morally weak; liable to yield to temptation. <BR> <I>Ex. tales ... of frail and erring men (Stoddard King).</I> adv. <B>frailly.</B> noun <B>frailness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="frail">
<B>frail</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a flexible basket made of rushes, used for packing figs, raisins, and other delicate produce. <DD><B> 2. </B>the quantity of figs, raisins, and other produce, packed in such a basket. A frail equals 30 to 75 pounds. </DL>
<A NAME="frailejon">
<B>frailejon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a growth of tall composite plants belonging to the paramos of the equatorial Andes. Their densely hairy leaves are as long as the arm and form rosettes. </DL>
<B>frailty, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the condition of being frail; weakness. <BR> <I>Ex. a sick person's physical frailty. The works of man inherit ... their author's frailty and return to dust (William Cowper).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>moral weakness; liability to yield to temptation. <BR> <I>Ex. His frailty of character caused him to yield to temptation.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a fault or sin caused by moral weakness. <BR> <I>Ex. Laziness is his only frailty.</I> </DL>
<B>fraise, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a fortified position consisting of pointed, horizontal, or inclined stakes near the top of a rampart. <DD><B> 2. </B>a ruff worn around the neck. </DL>
<A NAME="fraisesdesbois">
<B>fraises des bois,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) wild strawberries native to France and often served as a delicacy with thick cream. </DL>
<A NAME="fraktur">
<B>Fraktur, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (German.) a style of printing type. </DL>
<A NAME="frambesia">
<B>frambesia</B> or <B>framboesia, </B>noun. =yaws.</DL>
<A NAME="framboise">
<B>framboise, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) a liqueur made from raspberries. </DL>
