brittle
having hardness and rigidity but little tensile strength; breaking readily with a comparatively smooth fracture, as glass.
easily damaged or destroyed; fragile; frail: a brittle marriage.
lacking warmth, sensitivity, or compassion; aloof; self-centered: a self-possessed, cool, and rather brittle person.
having a sharp, tense quality: a brittle tone of voice.
unstable or impermanent; evanescent.
a confection of melted sugar, usually with nuts, brittle when cooled: peanut brittle.
to be or become brittle; crumble.
Origin of brittle
1synonym study For brittle
Other words for brittle
Other words from brittle
- brit·tle·ness, noun
- un·brit·tle, adjective
- un·brit·tle·ness, noun
Words that may be confused with brittle
Words Nearby brittle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use brittle in a sentence
The old dam on New Hampshire’s Second Connecticut Lake is caked with brittle crusty ice when I arrive, and the surrounding hills shrouded in fresh snow.
He escaped the cacophony by strapping on snowshoes and slipping into the Great North Woods | Miles Howard | January 15, 2021 | Washington PostSlight or seemingly random perturbations to a dataset—often undetectable by the human eye—can enormously alter the final output, something dubbed “brittle” for an algorithm.
2021 Could Be a Banner Year for AI—If We Solve These 4 Problems | Shelly Fan | January 5, 2021 | Singularity HubMore commonly, the root can be dug, washed, chopped, and roasted until brittle to create a steeping mixture that can be used like coffee grounds.
13 edible plants you can still find in the winter | By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life | December 1, 2020 | Popular-ScienceEven the denser rocks are much more porous and brittle than meteorites from similar asteroids that have been found on Earth.
The asteroid Bennu’s brittle boulders may make grabbing a sample easier | Lisa Grossman | October 8, 2020 | Science NewsHowever during later times after the Industrial Age, craftsmen were able to achieve higher temperatures for impurity removal, and they further improved upon the process by mixing carbon that made the brittle iron stronger.
14 Exceptional Weapon Systems from History That Were Ahead of their Time | Dattatreya Mandal | March 26, 2020 | Realm of History
Instead of being strong and resilient, bones become weak and brittle.
The way to fight being brittle—to keep the disease at bay—is to work at being limber.
The Stacks: The True Greatness of Muhammad Ali | Peter Richmond | February 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTbrittle egos are bolstered less by what they love about themselves than what they find contemptible in others.
But freedom is a beautifully brittle spirit balancing on a narrow strip of the intellectual spectrum.
Her many style tics—stacked one atop the other—read as code for narcissism, self-indulgence, and brittle self-absorption.
Newt Gingrich's Wife Callista's Prissy Style Problem | Robin Givhan | December 13, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTMore like the noise of powdering an iron bar on a nutmeg-grater, suggested brittle.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3) | Charles DickensAt this time the leaves are very brittle and unless the cutter is an experienced hand much injury may be done to the leaves.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.There was so little rain during the hot months that things became dry and brittle.
The value of a praying mother | Isabel C. ByrumThe rubber is much like tough, heavy dough—there is not much stretch to it and in a cold place it would become hard and brittle.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge | VariousLight round targets were brought them, and in the place of pointed lances, long brittle reeds.
God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
British Dictionary definitions for brittle
/ (ˈbrɪtəl) /
easily cracked, snapped, or broken; fragile
curt or irritable: a brittle reply
hard or sharp in quality
a crunchy sweet made with treacle and nuts: peanut brittle
Origin of brittle
1Derived forms of brittle
- brittlely or brittly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for brittle
[ brĭt′l ]
Having a tendency to break when subject to high stress. Brittle materials have undergone very little strain when they reach their elastic limit, and tend to break at that limit. Compare ductile.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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