Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
The state of being brittle (in various senses).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: brittility
Antonyms: toughness, resilience, ductility, pliability, bendability
noun
firm but easily broken
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: crispness, crispiness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: breakableness
Narrower terms: flakiness
History
Etymology tree English brittle Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh2yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h2ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English brittleness From brittle + -ness.
Across languages
27 source translations are retained for this English entry.
