'Brittle' definitions:
Definition of 'brittle'
(from WordNet)
adjective
Having little elasticity; hence easily cracked or fractured or snapped; "brittle bones"; "glass is brittle"; "`brickle' and `brickly' are dialectal" [syn: brittle, brickle, brickly]
adjective
Lacking warmth and generosity of spirit; "a brittle and calculating woman"
adjective
(of metal or glass) not annealed and consequently easily cracked or fractured [syn: brittle, unannealed]
noun
Definition of 'Brittle'
From: GCIDE
- Brittle \Brit"tle\, a. [OE. britel, brutel, AS. bryttian to dispense, fr. bre['o]tan to break; akin to Icel. brytja, Sw. bryta, Dan. bryde. Cf. Brickle.] Easily broken; apt to break; fragile; not tough or tenacious. [1913 Webster]
- Farewell, thou pretty, brittle piece Of fine-cut crystal. --Cotton. [1913 Webster]
- Brittle silver ore, the mineral stephanite. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'brittle'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- atrophied,
- breakable,
- brittle as glass,
- capricious,
- changeable,
- cheap-jack,
- cobwebby,
- corruptible,
- crackable,
- crisp,
- crispy,
- crumbly,
- crump,
- crushable,
- dainty,
- deciduous,
- delicate,
- delicately weak,
- desiccated,
- dried-up,
- dying,
- effeminate,
- emaciated,
- ephemeral,
- evanescent,
- fading,
- fickle,
- fissile,
- fleeting,
- flimsy,
- flitting,
- fly-by-night,
- flying,
- fracturable,
- fragile,
- frail,
- frangible,
- friable,
- fugacious,
- fugitive,
- gimcrack,
- gimcracky,
- gossamery,
- impermanent,
- impetuous,
- impulsive,
- inconstant,
- insecure,
- insubstantial,
- jerry,
- jerry-built,
- lacerable,
- light,
- lightweight,
- momentary,
- mortal,
- mutable,
- namby-pamby,
- nondurable,
- nonpermanent,
- papery,
- parchmenty,
- passing,
- pasteboardy,
- perishable,
- puny,
- scissile,
- sensitive,
- sere,
- shatterable,
- shattery,
- shivery,
- short-lived,
- shriveled,
- shrunken,
- sissified,
- sleazy,
- slight,
- splintery,
- tacky,
- temporal,
- temporary,
- transient,
- transitive,
- transitory,
- undurable,
- unenduring,
- unstable,
- unsubstantial,
- volatile,
- vulnerable,
- wasted,
- weak,
- wilted,
- wispy,
- withered,
- wizened,
- womanish,
- wrinkled