BRITTLE

brittle, brickle, brickly

(adjective) having little elasticity; hence easily cracked or fractured or snapped; “brittle bones”; “glass is brittle”; “‘brickle’ and ‘brickly’ are dialectal”

brittle, unannealed

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

brittle

(adjective) lacking warmth and generosity of spirit; “a brittle and calculating woman”

brittle, toffee, toffy

(noun) caramelized sugar cooled in thin sheets

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

brittle (comparative brittler or more brittle, superlative brittlest or most brittle)

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

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

(archaeology) Said of rocks and minerals with a conchoidal fracture; capable of being knapped or flaked.

Emotionally fragile, easily offended.

(informal, proscribed) Diabetes that is characterized by dramatic swings in blood sugar level.

Noun

brittle (usually uncountable, plural brittles)

A confection of caramelized sugar and nuts.

Anything resembling this confection, such as flapjack, a cereal bar, etc.

Synonyms

• brickle

Anagrams

• blitter, triblet

Source: Wiktionary

Brit"tle, a. Etym: [OE. britel, brutel, AS. bryttian to dispense, fr. breótan to break; akin to Icel. brytja, Sw. bryta, Dan. bryde. Cf. Brickle.]

Definition: Easily broken; apt to break; fragile; not tough or tenacious. Farewell, thou pretty, brittle piece Of fine-cut crystal. Cotton. Brittle silver ore, the mineral stephanite.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition