brittle
Hard but easily snapped or broken.
brittle in a sentence
- The brittle twigs cracked and snapped under our boots.
- The old book's brittle pages threatened to snap and crumble each time we turned one.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to brittle?
- Atough
- Bbendy
- Cfragile
- Dstrong
Show the answer
C: fragile. The other three mean the opposite of brittle.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to brittle?
- Aweak
- Bcrumbly
- Cfragile
- Dtough
Show the answer
D: tough. The other three mean nearly the same as brittle.
Words that mean something similar
fragile, weak, crumbly
Words that mean the opposite
tough, bendy, strong
More words about appearance & looks
- burly: Big, strong and heavily built.
- camouflage: The colours or patterns that help something blend in and hide.
- charred: Burnt and blackened on the outside.
- coarse: Rough to touch, or rude and unpolished.
- conspicuous: Very easy to see; standing out so everyone notices.
- contrast: A clear difference between two things.
- counterfeit: Made as a fake copy of something real, meant to trick people.
- dainty: Small, pretty and delicate.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test