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.

When stretched, solids elongate until they reach a critical stress point, then break suddenly in a process known as brittle fracture.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 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

"Any dissolution of the coalition essentially would make the right of centre look brittle and fragile and disunited," he told AFP.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 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

“A game with those hoops,” Nico explained, though his voice was brittle.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan