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brittle
8 dictionary results for: brittle
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
brit·tle 
[brit-l] Pronunciation Key adjective, -tler, -tlest, noun, verb, -tled, -tling.
—Related forms
[brit-l] Pronunciation Key adjective, -tler, -tlest, noun, verb, -tled, -tling. –adjective
–noun
–verb (used without object)
| 1. | having hardness and rigidity but little tensile strength; breaking readily with a comparatively smooth fracture, as glass. |
| 2. | easily damaged or destroyed; fragile; frail: a brittle marriage. |
| 3. | lacking warmth, sensitivity, or compassion; aloof; self-centered: a self-possessed, cool, and rather brittle person. |
| 4. | having a sharp, tense quality: a brittle tone of voice. |
| 5. | unstable or impermanent; evanescent. |
| 6. | a confection of melted sugar, usually with nuts, brittle when cooled: peanut brittle. |
| 7. | to be or become brittle; crumble. |
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME britel, equiv. to brit- (akin to OE brysten fragment) + -el adj. suffix]
] —Related forms
brit·tle·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| brit·tle
(brĭt'l) Pronunciation Key
adj. brit·tler, brit·tlest
n. A confection of caramelized sugar to which nuts are added: walnut brittle. [Middle English britel, probably from Old English *brytel, from bryttian, to shatter.] brit'tle·ly (brĭt'l-ē) adv., brit'tle·ness n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
brittle
brittle
O.E. bryttian "to break to pieces," from P.Gmc. stem *brutilo- "break" (cf. O.N. brjota "to break," O.H.G. brodi "fragile"), from PIE *bhreu-, from base *bher- "to cut with a sharp point." With -le, suffix forming adjectives with meaning "liable to."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| brittle | |
adjective | |
| 1. | having little elasticity; hence easily cracked or fractured or snapped; "brittle bones"; "glass is brittle"; "'brickle' and 'brickly' are dialectal" |
| 2. | lacking warmth and generosity of spirit; "a brittle and calculating woman" |
| 3. | (of metal or glass) not annealed and consequently easily cracked or fractured |
noun | |
| 1. | caramelized sugar cooled in thin sheets |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| brittle
(brĭt'l) Pronunciation Key
Having a tendency to break when subject to high stress. Brittle materials have undergone very little strain when they reach their elastic limit, and tend to break at that limit. Compare ductile.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This
brittle jargon
Said of software that is functional but easily broken by changes in operating environment or configuration, or by any minor tweak to the software itself. Also, any system that responds inappropriately and disastrously to abnormal but expected external stimuli; e.g. a file system that is usually totally scrambled by a power failure is said to be brittle. This term is often used to describe the results of a research effort that were never intended to be robust, but it can be applied to commercially developed software, which displays the quality far more often than it ought to.
Opposite of robust.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-05-09)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This
brittle
adj. Said of software that is functional but easily broken by changes in operating environment or configuration, or by any minor tweak to the software itself. Also, any system that responds inappropriately and disastrously to abnormal but expected external stimuli; e.g., a file system that is usually totally scrambled by a power failure is said to be brittle. This term is often used to describe the results of a research effort that were never intended to be robust, but it can be applied to commercial software, which (due to closed-source development) displays the quality far more often than it ought to. Oppose robust.
Jargon File 4.2.0
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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 . Farewell, thou pretty, brittle piece Of fine-cut crystal. --Cotton. Brittle silver ore, the mineral stephanite.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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