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Dainty vs Brittle - What's the difference?

dainty | brittle |

As nouns the difference between dainty and brittle

is that dainty is (obsolete) esteem, honour while brittle is (uncountable) a confection of caramelized sugar and nuts.

As adjectives the difference between dainty and brittle

is that dainty is (obsolete) excellent; valuable, fine while brittle is inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under stress or pressure.

dainty

English

Noun

(dainties)
  • (obsolete) Esteem, honour.
  • A delicacy.
  • * 1719 , (Daniel Defoe), (Robinson Crusoe)
  • my case was deplorable enough, yet I had great cause for thankfulness that I was not driven to any extremities for food, but had rather plenty, even to dainties .
  • * (William Cowper)
  • [A table] furnished plenteously with bread, / And dainties , remnants of the last regale.
  • (Canada, Prairies and northwestern Ontario) A fancy cookie, pastry, or square served at a social event (usually plural).
  • (obsolete)
  • (Ben Jonson)

    Adjective

    (er)
  • (obsolete) Excellent; valuable, fine.
  • *, II.13:
  • Heliogabalus the most dissolute man of the world, amidst his most riotous sensualities, intended, whensoever occasion should force him to it, to have a daintie death.
  • Elegant; delicately small and pretty.
  • * Milton
  • Those dainty limbs which nature lent / For gentle usage and soft delicacy.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=However, with the dainty volume my quondam friend sprang into fame. At the same time he cast off the chrysalis of a commonplace existence.}}
  • Fastidious and fussy, especially when eating.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • They were a fine and dainty people.
  • * Shakespeare
  • And let us not be dainty of leave taking, / But shift away.

    Synonyms

    * neat * petite

    References

    *

    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.
  • 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

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