Brittle — A Vocabulary Story
The Brittle Crossing
High in the Patagonian foothills of Chile, Jorge gripped the rope of an old footbridge while his cousin Ann hesitated behind him. They had hiked all morning to reach the geologist's camp, where Anita was studying the cliffs.
"Don't trust those planks," Anita called from the far side. "The wood's gone brittle after years of frost. Step only where I point."
Brittle means easily broken or snapped. It also means lacking warmth or depth of feeling.
Jorge looked down. The boards beneath his boots looked grey and tired, splintering at the edges like brittle toffee. One wrong stomp and he could imagine the whole thing snapping.
"Why is it so brittle?" Ann asked, her voice thin.
"Cold dries the timber," Anita explained, edging closer. "As moisture escapes, the leftover wood turns brittle. Bones can do the same, you know — without calcium, they turn brittle too."
Jorge swallowed. He thought of his gran's brittle fingers, and of the brittle ice they'd cracked underfoot that morning. The world, it seemed, was full of things waiting to break.
"Slide your feet," Anita instructed. "Don't lift and drop."
They shuffled across, the bridge groaning like an old door. When Jorge finally stepped onto solid rock, his knees wobbled.
Anita grinned. "You did brilliantly. Courage isn't brittle — it bends."
Ann laughed, relieved. Below them, the river roared on, indifferent to brittle bridges and brave, careful children.
Word Definition
brittle
meaning
easily broken or snapped; lacking warmth or depth of feeling
synonyms
crisp · fragile · crumbly · friable · breakable
antonyms
elastic · flexible · resilient
example sentence
The brittle material cracked under minimal pressure during testing.