Lexic.us

Definition of Brittle

1. Noun. Caramelized sugar cooled in thin sheets.

2. Adjective. Having little elasticity; hence easily cracked or fractured or snapped. "`brickle' and `brickly' are dialectal"

3. Adjective. Lacking warmth and generosity of spirit. "A brittle and calculating woman"

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

Definition of Brittle

1. a. Easily broken; apt to break; fragile; not tough or tenacious.

Definition of Brittle

1. Adjective. Inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under stress or pressure. ¹

2. Adjective. Not physically tough or tenacious; apt to break or crumble when bending. ¹

3. Adjective. (archeology) Said of rocks and minerals with a conchoidal fracture; capable of being knapped or flaked. ¹

4. Adjective. Emotionally fragile, easily offended. ¹

5. Adjective. (context: informal proscribed)[ Diabetes Mellitus (DM)], Merck manual Diabetes that is characterized by dramatic swings in blood sugar level. ¹

6. Noun. (Mass Noun) A confection of caramelized sugar and nuts. ¹

7. Noun. (Mass Noun) Anything resembling this confection, such as flapjack, a cereal bar, etc. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Brittle

1. likely to break [adj -TLER, -TLEST] / to become brittle [v -TLED, -TLING, -TLES] - See also: brittle

Lexicographical Neighbors of Brittle

brit brit milah britannia britannias britches britchka britholite briths british columbia britschka

britska britskas britt brittania brittanias brittle (current term) brittle-star brittle bladder fern brittle bones brittle bush

brittle diabetes brittle fern brittle hair syndrome brittle maidenhair brittle maidenhair fern brittle star brittle stars brittle willow brittlebush brittlebushes

Literary usage of Brittle

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Cambridge Natural History by Arthur Everett Shipley, Sidney Frederic Harmer (1906)
"... is the key to the understanding of most of the points wherein the brittle Stars differ from the true Starfish. Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea agree in the ..."

2. A Dictionary of Chemistry: On the Basis of Mr. Nicholson's, in which the ...by Andrew Ure, William Nicholson by Andrew Ure, William Nicholson (1821)
"brittle. S p. gr. 6.2 to 6.6. It dissolves with effervescence in muriatic ... brittle. Sp. gr. constituents are, oxide of lead 35, arsenic 4.75. acid 25, ..."

3. Appletons' Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events of the Year (1899)
"Hard, brittle white-iron castings may be softened and annealed, according to ... As a result the steel had become so brittle that the upper half crumbled as ..."

4. A Dictionary of Chemistry and the Allied Branches of Other Sciences by Henry Watts (1866)
"It is silver-white, brittle, much more fusible than nickel, not magnetic. ... It is brittle, has a brass-yellow colour and metallic lustre, and is bright in ..."

5. College zoology by Robert William Hegner (1918)
"OPHIUROIDEA — brittle-STARS Distinctive Characteristics. — Body flattened; arms distinct ... The arms of the brittle-stars (Fig. 138) and basket-fish (Fig. ..."

Other Resources: