ANTIFRAGILE

What Does Antifragile Mean in a Text?

Antifragile means "Thrives Under Stress and Uncertainty."

Antifragile is a term coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (a Lebanese-American author, scholar, and former options trader), referring to a system or entity that does not simply resist stressors and shocks, but actually thrives and improves in response to them.

Antifragility is the opposite of fragility, where a system or entity is weakened or damaged by stressors and shocks. An antifragile system is able to adapt, learn and grow stronger from its experiences with stressors, uncertainty and disorder. As Taleb writes in the book Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder:
  • "Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better."
The concept of antifragility can be applied to various fields, such as biology, economics, engineering, and social systems. It is not inherently a personal philosophy, but individuals can apply the principles of antifragility to their own lives and decision-making processes. For example:
  • The Greek mythical creature Hydra was a formidably antifragile opponent for Hercules. Every time he cut off a head, two more grew back.
  • Despite all of the setbacks, they adopted an antifragile mindset and continued the fight for equal rights.

Image for Antifragile

When I write Antifragile, I mean this:

meaning of ANTIFRAGILE

Hydra was the very definition of Antifragile: When one head was cut off, two grew back in its place.

Summary of Key Points

"Thrives Under Stress and Uncertainty" is the most common definition for Antifragile on Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
Antifragile
Definition:Thrives Under Stress and Uncertainty
Type:Word
Guessability:guessability level 3

3: Guessable

Typical Users:typical user
Adults and Teenagers

An Academic Look at Antifragile

Antifragile is a neologism. A neologism is a newly coined term or expression that has not yet become widely used or recognized in a particular language or culture. It is often created to describe a new concept, idea, or phenomenon.

A neologism can be:
  • A new meaning for an existing word (e.g., mood, sick).
  • A completely new word (e.g., oversharers).
  • A new combination of existing words (e.g., digital detox, antifragile).
Some neologisms are formally accepted into mainstream language (at which point, they cease to be neologisms), and some wither until they can longer be considered everyday terms.

Example of Antifragile Used in a Text

Antifragile
author logo

This page is maintained by the Cyber Definitions Editorial Team.

Help Us Improve Cyber Definitions

  • Do you disagree with something on this page?
  • Did you spot a typo?
  • Do you know a slang term that we've missed?
Please tell us using this form.

Quiz

Try our fun quiz to test your knowledge of slang and texting abbreviations.
gold cup
Gold

gold cup
Silver

gold cup
Bronze

0
  • This test has questions.
  • A correct answer is worth 5 points.
  • You can get up to 5 bonus points for a speedy answer.
  • Some questions demand more than one answer. You must get every part right.
  • Beware! Wrong answers score 0 points.
  • 🏆 If you beat one of the top 3 scores, you will be invited to apply for the Hall of Fame.
Scoring System

Cyber Guru (+)
Cyber Hero (+)
Cyber Captain (+)
Cyber Sergeant (+)
Cyber Recruit (+)