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Brittle vs Poignant - What's the difference?

brittle | poignant |

As adjectives the difference between brittle and poignant

is that brittle is inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under stress or pressure while poignant is (obsolete|of a weapon etc) sharp-pointed; keen.

As a noun brittle

is (uncountable) a confection of caramelized sugar and nuts.

brittle

English

(wikipedia brittle)

Adjective

(en-adj)
  • Inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under stress or pressure.
    • Cast iron is much more brittle than forged iron.
    A diamond is hard but brittle .
  • * 1977 , , Penguin Classics, p. 329:
    • 'Do you suppose our convent, and I too, / Are insufficient, then, to pray for you? / Thomas, that joke's not good. Your faith is brittle .
  • Not physically tough or tenacious; apt to break or crumble when bending.
  • * Shortbread'' is my favorite cold pastry, yet being so brittle it crumbles easily, and a lot goes to waste.
  • (archaeology) Said of rocks and minerals with a conchoidal fracture; capable of being knapped or flaked.
  • Emotionally fragile, easily offended.
    • What a brittle personality! A little misunderstanding and he's an emotional wreck.
  • (informal, proscribed) Diabetes Mellitus (DM), Merck manual Diabetes that is characterized by dramatic swings in blood sugar level.

    • Related terms

    * brittleness

    Noun

  • (uncountable) A confection of caramelized sugar and nuts.
    • As a child, my favorite candy was peanut brittle .
  • (uncountable) Anything resembling this confection, such as flapjack, a cereal bar, etc.

    • Synonyms

    * brickle

    See also

    * break, breakable * short (adjective)

    References

    *

    Anagrams

    *

    poignant

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (obsolete, of a weapon etc) Sharp-pointed; keen.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , VII:
    • His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse; / His poynant speare, that many made to bleed [...].
  • Incisive; penetrating.
    • His comments were poignant and witty.
  • neat; eloquent; applicable; relevant.
    • A poignant reply will garner more credence than hours of blown smoke.
  • Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.
    • Flipping through his high school yearbook evoked many a poignant memory of yesteryear.
  • (figuratively, of a taste or smell) Piquant, pungent.
  • Piercing.
  • (dated, mostly British) Inducing sharp physical pain.

    • Synonyms

    * (evoking strong mental sensation) distressing, moving

    Related terms

    * poignancy

    References

    * OED 2nd edition 1989 * Webster Third New International 1986 ----