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brittleness

British  
/ ˈbrɪtəlnɪs /

noun

  1. the quality of being brittle

  2. metallurgy the tendency of a metal to break without being significantly distorted or exposed to a high level of stress Compare toughness softness

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But in addition to exposing Kennedy’s limits, Trump’s pro-Roundup order—and MAHA’s reaction to it—revealed a brittleness to the movement as a whole.

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2026

“External wars tend to strengthen revolutionary regimes in their early years, but military humiliations expose the brittleness of late-stage dictatorships.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026

The film’s persistent brittleness may make some viewers antsy.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2025

The thing is, does the first perceived brittleness contribute to the second?

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2024

He was living to be one hundred years old and played a smoothly fluent game of billiards that contrasted with his own ninety-four-year-old brittleness.

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.