brittle Hear it!

brittle Definition

brit·tle (brit′'l)

adjective

  1. easily broken or shattered because hard and inflexible
  2. having a sharp, hard quality brittle tones
  3. stiff and unbending in manner; lacking warmth

Etymology: ME britel < OE breotan, to break to pieces; akin to ON brjota < IE *bhreu- < base *bher-, to cut with a sharp point

noun

a brittle, crunchy candy with nuts in it peanut brittle

brittle Related Forms
brit′·tlely adverb or brit′·tly brit′·tle·ness noun
brittle Synonyms

brittle

modif.

fragile, crisp, inelastic, breakable; see crumbly. See syn. study at fragile.

brittle Usage Examples

Preposition: at

  • temperature: Cryogenic milling is used to break down some metals which become brittle at low temperatures.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: The presence of the carbide makes the metal very brittle.
  • leave: Frequent wetting and drying of hands can leave nails brittle.

Modifies a noun

  • bladder-fern: The brittle bladder-fern, for instance, spread from the north and west to the South East and East Anglia.
  • fracture: Plastic deformation must not be carried beyond a certain point or brittle fracture is likely to result.
  • bone: The Society knows of about 3500 people with brittle bones in all parts of the United Kingdom.
  • nail: A: " Brittle nails are the result of severe dehydration in the nail plates.
  • deformation: Material heterogeneity and loading history are fundamental to the initiation and evolution of distributed brittle deformation.
  • asthma: People with brittle asthma can have a fatal attack with no warning whatsoever.

Modifying Another Word

  • extremely: Elijah ( Samuel L. Jackson ) barely survives being born with a rare disease that leaves his bones extremely brittle.
  • relatively: The critical load for adhesion failure is easiest to identify in the case of a hard, relatively brittle film on a softer substrate.
  • too: Will you get a call saying your film is too brittle?
  • rather: The wire itself is very stiff and rather brittle.
  • quite: This version also has a red plastic comb binding, which with age has tended to become quite brittle.
  • very: The presence of the carbide makes the metal very brittle.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Poor quality modern papers which have become brittle will not be copied.
  • look: The assurances on jobs look very brittle at the moment.
  • get: Then, like aging teeth, they get more brittle.
  • feel: You know, the days when you feel so brittle, like a slightest gust of wind might knock you down.

Preposition: with

  • age: Be careful not to bend the wires too much, as the insulation gets brittle with age and exposure to oil.