brittle C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈbrɪtəl/ UK /ˈbrɪtəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj hard but easily broken; also a hard sugary candy The old parchment had grown brittle and crumbled at a touch. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · hard but easily broken;... fragilebreakablefrailcrispfriabledelicate ↔ Opposites toughflexibleresilientsturdydurable Word family Derived forms brittlybrittleness Etymology AI details From Middle English britel, britil, related to Old English breotan ('to break to pieces'), from Proto-Germanic *breutaną ('to break'). breotan Old English *breutaną Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # brittle **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈbrɪtəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈbrɪtəl/ ## Meanings 1. hard but easily broken; also a hard sugary candy ## Examples - The old parchment had grown brittle and crumbled at a touch. ## Synonyms - fragile - breakable - frail - crisp - friable - delicate ## Antonyms - tough - flexible - resilient - sturdy - durable ## Derived Forms - brittly - brittleness ## Roots and Affixes - Root: breotan - Root: *breutaną ## Etymology From Middle English britel, britil, related to Old English breotan ('to break to pieces'), from Proto-Germanic *breutaną ('to break'). ## AI Etymology Brittle comes from Middle English britel, britil, related to Old English breotan ('to break to pieces'), from Proto-Germanic *breutaną ('to break'). The historical trail runs through breotan in Old English and *breutaną in Proto-Germanic. Used as an adjective and noun, brittle now means "hard but easily broken; also a hard sugary candy", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as brittly and brittleness. The word is therefore part of the inherited Germanic layer of English, even where later usage has narrowed, broadened, or specialized the sense. ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown