brittle

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"This makes the tendons more brittle and impairs their mechanical function," explains Greta Moschini, a doctoral student in De Bock and Snedeker's groups and lead author of the study.

From Science Daily • Feb. 12, 2026

Running her hand through her brittle white hair, she mimed heating water on a gas stove to wash herself in the cold mornings.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

We move in a familiar loop: outrage at dysfunction, ritualized critique, then a quiet hope that the same brittle systems will somehow stabilize themselves when the stakes get high.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 2026

The brittle, acoustically reflective shell combines with its curved, hollow shape to act as a Helmholtz resonator, rendering ambient background noise into the sound of the surf.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

I was preparing to move away, to let my mother and sister say goodbye, when he coughed—a brittle, rasping hack that sounded like crepe paper being crinkled.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover