brittle

== English == === 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. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbɹɪtl̩/ Rhymes: -ɪtəl === Adjective === brittle (comparative brittler or more brittle, superlative brittlest or most brittle) Inflexible; liable to break, snap, or shatter easily under stress, pressure, or impact. Antonyms: tough, pliable Hypernyms: crackable, breakable Coordinate terms: friable, crumbly Near-synonym: crackly Not physically tough or tenacious; apt to break or crumble when bending. (archaeology, of rocks, minerals, etc) Tending to fracture in a conchoidal way; capable of being knapped or flaked. Emotionally fragile, easily offended. (engineering, computing, 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. (informal, proscribed, of diabetes) Characterized by dramatic swings in blood sugar level. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === brittle (usually uncountable, plural brittles) A confection of caramelized sugar and nuts. Synonym: brickle Hyponym: peanut brittle Coordinate term: toffee (by extension) Anything resembling this confection, such as flapjack, a cereal bar, etc. ==== Derived terms ==== peanut brittle ==== Translations ==== === Verb === brittle (third-person singular simple present brittles, present participle brittling, simple past and past participle brittled) (intransitive) To become brittle. Synonym: embrittle (transitive, obsolete) To gut. ==== Related terms ==== === References === “brittle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. === Anagrams === blitter, triblet