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Glite Dictionary
💔 Easily broken 🖥️ Easily fails
brittleness

brittleness

1 5.4
Hard and breaks easily, like glass
  • noun
  • /ˈbrɪtlnəs/
translation icon : fragilidad
  • The brittleness of the ceramic vase was evident when it shattered at the slightest impact.

Examples

  • Basically, it causes brittleness in your bones, which can increase the likelihood of breaks as well as other calcium deficiency issues.

    Blog text (31)

  • Next I'm grabbing the Theory Argon Oil Ultimate Reform Hair Serum and this is going to soften the cuticle and strengthen any brittleness that you have in your hair.

  • So music takes on a brittleness, a metallicness, all those sorts of things.

  • This process leaves a trail of broken bonds in its wake, all the while increasing the brittleness of the ice on a macroscopic scale.

    Blog text (8)

  • The question besides the hardness/brittleness issue is what this energy conversion translates into.

    Blog text (11)

  • So we wouldn't expect a huge change in fracture toughness or brittleness, but it will be there.

  • Reinforcing soil cement not only increases the value of tensile strength, but it reduces its brittleness.

    Academic text (2016)

  • When tolerance to very high temperatures is required, it may be necessary to resort to using ceramic materials and compensate in some way for their inherent brittleness.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Reinforcing the soil cement causes a reduction in brittleness and stiffness, and an increase in ductility.

    Academic text (2016)

  • The brittleness of the dry twigs made them snap easily when we stepped on them.

Synonyms

fragility
vsbrittleness
17 5.2

Something that is easy to break or damage, like glass

is specifically about hard materials that break or crack easily
snappiness
vsbrittleness
4.8

How easily a material breaks or snaps

is about being hard yet liable to crack rather than just snap
frangibleness
vsbrittleness
9.9

The quality of being easily broken or damaged

highlights hardness combined with a tendency to crack under stress
frangibility
vsbrittleness
9.9

The ability of something to break easily

emphasizes breaking of hard materials by cracking rather than bending
breakability
vsbrittleness
5.8

How easily something breaks or gets damaged

adds the idea of hardness that leads to cracking rather than bending
breakableness
vsbrittleness
9.2

How easily something is damaged or comes apart when dropped

focuses on hard items that crack or split rather than deform
crumbliness
vsbrittleness
7.5

How easily something breaks into small pieces

describes cracking of hard materials rather than soft crumbling
friability
vsbrittleness
  • Specialized
9.9

How easily something breaks into small pieces or powder

relates to hard materials cracking or splitting instead of powdering

Antonyms

flexibility
37 3.0

Ability to bend or change shape without breaking

toughness
18 3.2

Ability to stay strong and not break under hard conditions

How Brittle

brittleness
1 5.4
fragility
17 5.2
flexibility
37 3.0
ductility
  • Specialized
1 8.0
toughness
  • Specialized
1 4.7

Surface Forms

brittleness singular
brittlenesses plural

Morphology

brittleness = brittle (transparent) = brittle + ness

Derived by a straightforward adjective-to-noun nominalization (brittle + -ness) whose meaning is directly predictable from the adjective.

Etymology

The word brittleness comes from old words meaning 'easily broken', and a helpful image is thin glass that looks hard but snaps with a small tap. So brittleness is the quality of being hard but likely to break.