brittle

[ brit-l ]

adjective

, brit·tler, brit·tlest.

1. having hardness and rigidity but little tensile strength; breaking readily with a comparatively smooth fracture, as glass.

   Synonyms: fragile

2. easily damaged or destroyed; fragile; frail:

   a brittle marriage.

3. lacking warmth, sensitivity, or compassion; aloof; self-centered:

   a self-possessed, cool, and rather brittle person.

4. having a sharp, tense quality:

   a brittle tone of voice.

5. unstable or impermanent; evanescent.

noun

1. a confection of melted sugar, usually with nuts, brittle when cooled:

   peanut brittle.

verb (used without object)

, brit·tled, brit·tling.

1. to be or become brittle; crumble.

brittle

/ ˈbrɪtəl /

adjective

1. easily cracked, snapped, or broken; fragile
2. curt or irritable

   a brittle reply

3. hard or sharp in quality

noun

1. a crunchy sweet made with treacle and nuts

   peanut brittle

brittle

/ brĭt′l /

1. 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.
2. Compare ductile

Derived Forms

• ˈbrittlely, adverb

Other Words From

• brittle·ness noun
• un·brittle adjective
• un·brittle·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brittle¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English britel, equivalent to brit- (akin to Old English brysten “fragment”) + -el adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of brittle¹

C14: from Old English brytel (unattested); related to brytsen fragment, brēotan to break

Synonym Study

See frail ¹.

Example Sentences

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.

From Washington Post

Slight 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.

From Singularity Hub 

More commonly, the root can be dug, washed, chopped, and roasted until brittle to create a steeping mixture that can be used like coffee grounds.

From Popular-Science

Even the denser rocks are much more porous and brittle than meteorites from similar asteroids that have been found on Earth.

From Science News

However 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.

From Realm of History

Instead of being strong and resilient, bones become weak and brittle.

From The Daily Beast

The way to fight being brittle—to keep the disease at bay—is to work at being limber.

From The Daily Beast

Brittle egos are bolstered less by what they love about themselves than what they find contemptible in others.

From The Daily Beast

But freedom is a beautifully brittle spirit balancing on a narrow strip of the intellectual spectrum.

From The Daily Beast

Her many style tics—stacked one atop the other—read as code for narcissism, self-indulgence, and brittle self-absorption.

From The Daily Beast

More like the noise of powdering an iron bar on a nutmeg-grater, suggested Brittle.

From Project Gutenberg

At this time the leaves are very brittle and unless the cutter is an experienced hand much injury may be done to the leaves.

From Project Gutenberg

There was so little rain during the hot months that things became dry and brittle.

From Project Gutenberg

The 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.

From Project Gutenberg

Light round targets were brought them, and in the place of pointed lances, long brittle reeds.

From Project Gutenberg