BRITTLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does brittle mean? 

• BRITTLE (noun)
  The noun BRITTLE has 1 sense:

1. caramelized sugar cooled in thin sheets

  Familiarity information: BRITTLE used as a noun is very rare.

• BRITTLE (adjective)
  The adjective BRITTLE has 3 senses:

1. having little elasticity; hence easily cracked or fractured or snapped

2. lacking warmth and generosity of spirit

3. (of metal or glass) not annealed and consequently easily cracked or fractured

  Familiarity information: BRITTLE used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BRITTLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Caramelized sugar cooled in thin sheets

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

brittle; toffee; toffy

Hypernyms ("brittle" is a kind of...):

candy; confect (a rich sweet made of flavored sugar and often combined with fruit or nuts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "brittle"):

peanut brittle (brittle containing peanuts)

• BRITTLE (adjective)

Comparative: brittler   
Superlative: brittlest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Having little elasticity; hence easily cracked or fractured or snapped

Synonyms:

brickle; brickly; brittle

Context example:

'brickle' and 'brickly' are dialectal

Similar:

breakable (capable of being broken or damaged)

Derivation:

brittleness (firm but easily broken)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lacking warmth and generosity of spirit

Context example:

a brittle and calculating woman

Similar:

coldhearted (lacking in sympathy or feeling)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(of metal or glass) not annealed and consequently easily cracked or fractured

Synonyms:

brittle; unannealed

Similar:

unhardened; untempered (not brought to a proper consistency or hardness)

Derivation:

brittleness (firm but easily broken)

 Context examples 

Signs and symptoms include muscle cramps, abdominal pain, dry skin, brittle nails, cataracts, tetany, and convulsions.

(Hypoparathyroidism, NCI Thesaurus)

A brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure.

(Glass, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by hypotonia, seizures, failure to thrive, and peculiar colorless or steel-colored brittle hair.

(Menkes Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by brittle and easily fractured bones.

(Osteogenesis Imperfecta, NCI Thesaurus)

OI can also cause weak muscles, brittle teeth, a curved spine, and hearing loss.

(Osteogenesis Imperfecta, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Autosomal dominant COLLAGEN DISEASES resulting from defective biosynthesis of COLLAGEN TYPE I and characterized by brittle, osteoporotic, and easily fractured bones.

(Osteogenesis Imperfecta, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A brittle fracture across which relative movement of rocks has occurred.

(Fault line, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

The test ascertains whether the material is tough or brittle.

(Device Impact Testing Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)

And it is you, spirit—with will and energy, and virtue and purity—that I want: not alone your brittle frame.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It is characterized by a distinctive facial appearance (high forehead, short nose, and widely spaced eyes), sparse and brittle hair, skin disorders, heart malformations, mental retardation and developmental delay.

(Cardiofaciocutaneous Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)