Dictionary

brittle en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɹɪtəl/ t-flapping
• /ˈbɹɪtəl/ without t-flapping
• [ˈbɹʷɪɾəl] ~ [ˈbɹʷɪɾl̩] t-flapping
• [ˈbɹʷɪtʰəl] ~ [ˈbɹʷɪtʰl̩] without t-flapping
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English britel, brutel, brotel (“brittle”), from Old English *brytel, *bryttol (“brittle, fragile”, literally “prone to or tending to break”); equivalent to brit + -le.

Meanings

1. Inflexible; liable to break, snap, or shatter easily under stress, pressure, or impact.
   • Near-synonyms: crackly, (technical) brash
   • A diamond is hard but brittle.
   • 'Do you suppose our convent, and I too, Are insufficient, then, to pray for you? Thomas, that joke's not good. Your faith is brittle. 1951, Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by Nevill Coghill, The Canterbury Tales: Translated into Modern English (Penguin Classics), Penguin Books, published 1977, page 329:
   • Cast iron is much more brittle than forged iron.
2. Not physically tough or tenacious; apt to break or crumble when bending.
   • Shortbread is my favorite cold pastry, yet being so brittle it crumbles easily, and a lot goes to waste.
3. (of rocks, qualifier:minerals; etc; minerals; etc) Tending to fracture in a conchoidal way; capable of being knapped or flaked.
4. Emotionally fragile, easily offended.
   • What a brittle person! A little misunderstanding and he's an emotional wreck.
5. (of a system) Poorly error- or fault-tolerant; having little in the way of redundancy or defense in depth; susceptible to catastrophic failure in the event of a relatively-minor malfunction or deviance.
6. (informal, of diabetes, proscribed) Characterized by dramatic swings in blood sugar level.

Forms

Antonyms

tough · pliable

Coordinates

friable · crumbly

Deriveds

quasibrittle · nonbrittle · unbrittle · brittlegill · brittlebush · brittle hair syndrome · brittle bone disease · brittleness · brittlestem · brittlely · brittle cinder · brittle star · brittly · work-brittle · brittle fracture · Sabinas brittle hair syndrome · brittility · embrittle

Hypernyms

breakable · crackable

Synonyms

brash · crackly

Translations (109)

es vidrioso (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ga aibrisc (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · sco frush (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · pt frágil (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · de brüchig (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · la fragōsus (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · de fragil (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · mk тро́шлив (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · cmn 易碎的 (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · da skrøbelig (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · de zerreibbar (apt to break or crumble when bending) · bg обидчив (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · mi waipawa (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · grc κραῦρος (apt to break or crumble when bending) · grc καπυρός (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ru беззащи́тный (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · de krümelig (apt to break or crumble when bending) · fi hapero (apt to break or crumble when bending) · de mürbe (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · nl breekbaar (apt to break or crumble when bending) · de bröselig (apt to break or crumble when bending) · de brüchig (apt to break or crumble when bending) · gl crebadizo (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · it fragile (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · da skør (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · nrf brouyi (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ru хру́пкий (apt to break or crumble when bending) · cy bregus (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · ru оби́дчивый (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · mk о́сетлив (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · nl bros (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · no skjør (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · eo frakasebla (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · fi herkkä (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · ga briosc (apt to break or crumble when bending) · mk кре́вок (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · fi herkkätunteinen (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · de bröckelig (apt to break or crumble when bending) · uk ламкий (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · cs citlivý (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · de bröckelig (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ca fràgil (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · mi mōwhakiwhaki (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ota یوفقه (apt to break or crumble when bending) · fi hauras (apt to break or crumble when bending) · pdt brosch (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · cs křehký (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ru уязви́мый (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · grc ψαθυρός (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · is brothætt (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · fr fragile (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ga aibrisc (apt to break or crumble when bending) · fi hauras (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · de instabil (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · de bröslig (apt to break or crumble when bending) · gl quebradizo (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · de reizbar (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · bg трошлив (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · vi giòn (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · cy brau (apt to break or crumble when bending) · de spröde (apt to break or crumble when bending) · es friable (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · bg крехък (apt to break or crumble when bending) · ga briosc (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · nl bros (apt to break or crumble when bending) · bg чуплив (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · fi hauras (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · sh krhak (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ru чувстви́тельный (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · cmn 易损坏的 (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ca trencadís (apt to break or crumble when bending) · uk чутливий (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · gv so-vrishey (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · gl fráxil (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · bg крехък (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · mk кр́шлив (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · pt frágil (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · de spröde (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · mi kōtihetihe (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · hu rideg (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · mi mōwhaki (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · es quebradizo (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · de morsch (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · sh krt (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · es frágil (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · de fragil (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ru ло́мкий (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · de kühl (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · de krümelnd (apt to break or crumble when bending) · cs přecitlivělý (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · nrf câsuel (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · ru хру́пкий (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · nl broos (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · mk кр́шлив (apt to break or crumble when bending) · de mürbe (apt to break or crumble when bending) · cy brau (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · hu törékeny (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · no sprø (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · de zerbrechlich (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · grc κραῦρος (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · bg чувствителен (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · pt quebradiço (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · pl kruchy (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · mk чувстви́телен (emotionally fragile, easily offended) · cs lámavý (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · uk крихкий (able to break or snap easily under stress or pressure) · es frágil (apt to break or crumble when bending) · fr cassant (apt to break or crumble when bending) · nl kribbigkoelafstandelijk (emotionally fragile, easily offended)

brittle en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɹɪtəl/ t-flapping
• /ˈbɹɪtəl/ without t-flapping
• [ˈbɹʷɪɾəl] ~ [ˈbɹʷɪɾl̩] t-flapping
• [ˈbɹʷɪtʰəl] ~ [ˈbɹʷɪtʰl̩] without t-flapping
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English britel, brutel, brotel (“brittle”), from Old English *brytel, *bryttol (“brittle, fragile”, literally “prone to or tending to break”); equivalent to brit + -le.

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) A confection of caramelized sugar and nuts.
   • As a child, my favorite candy was peanut brittle.
2. (broadly, uncountable, usually) Anything resembling this confection, such as flapjack, a cereal bar, etc.

Forms

Coordinates

toffee

Deriveds

peanut brittle

Synonyms

brickle

Translations (10)

da krokant (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · ru козинак (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · nb krokan (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · de Krokant (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · es crocante (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · nn krokan (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · hu grillázs (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · fi krokantti (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · sv krokant (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts) · fr nougatine (confection of caramelized sugar and nuts)

brittle en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɹɪtəl/ t-flapping
• /ˈbɹɪtəl/ without t-flapping
• [ˈbɹʷɪɾəl] ~ [ˈbɹʷɪɾl̩] t-flapping
• [ˈbɹʷɪtʰəl] ~ [ˈbɹʷɪtʰl̩] without t-flapping
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English britel, brutel, brotel (“brittle”), from Old English *brytel, *bryttol (“brittle, fragile”, literally “prone to or tending to break”); equivalent to brit + -le.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To become brittle.
   • The project is based on a similar project, the Class project, which was started by the University of Cornell several years ago under the leadership of Stuart Lynn to preserve brittling old books. 1999, J. Siekmann, Maria T. Pazienza, J. G. Carbonell, Information Extraction: Towards Scalable, Adaptable Systems, page 24:
   • Her heart fluttered, then stilled when May snapped the image away and her voice brittled. 2020, Alys Murray, The Magnolia Sisters:
2. (obsolete, transitive) To gut.
   • Not being versed in the terms of English venery, he asked Abbot Ulfketyl what brittling of a deer might mean; and being informed that it was that operation on the carcass of a stag which his countrymen called eventrer, and Highland gillies now “gralloching”[.] 1866, Charles Kingsley, chapter 38, in Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson:

Forms

Relateds

embrittlement

Synonyms

embrittle