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Soft vs Brittle - What's the difference?

soft | brittle |

As adjectives the difference between soft and brittle

is that soft is easily giving way under pressure while brittle is inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under stress or pressure.

As nouns the difference between soft and brittle

is that soft is a soft or foolish person; an idiot while brittle is a confection of caramelized sugar and nuts.

As an interjection soft

is be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.

As an adverb soft

is softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.

soft

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Easily giving way under pressure.
    • My head sank easily into the soft pillow.
  • (of cloth or similar material) Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh.
    • Polish the silver with a soft cloth to avoid scratching.
    soft''' silk; a '''soft skin
  • * Bible, Matt. xi. 8
    • They that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
  • Gentle.
    • There was a soft breeze blowing.
  • * Shakespeare
    • I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's; / Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine.
  • * Tyndale
    • The meek or soft shall inherit the earth.
  • Expressing gentleness or tenderness; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind.
    • soft eyes
  • * Bible, Proverbs xv. 1
    • A soft answer turneth away wrath.
  • * Wordsworth
    • A face with gladness overspread, / Soft smiles, by human kindness bred.
  • Gentle in action or motion; easy.
  • * Milton
    • On her soft axle, white she paces even, / And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.
  • Weak in character; impressible.
  • * Glanvill
    • The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.
  • Requiring little or no effort; easy.
    • a soft job
  • Not bright or intense.
    • soft lighting
  • (of a road intersection) Having an acute angle.
    • At the intersection, there are two roads going to the left. Take the soft left.
  • (of a sound) Quiet.
    • I could hear the soft rustle of the leaves in the trees.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Her voice was ever soft , / Gentle, and low, — an excellent thing in woman.
  • (linguistics) voiced, sonant
    • DH represents the voiced (soft)'' th ''of English these clothes. —
  • (linguistics, rare) voiceless
  • (linguistics, Slavic languages) palatalized
  • (slang) Lacking strength or resolve, wimpy.
    • When it comes to drinking, he is as soft as they come.
  • (of water) Low in dissolved calcium compounds.
    • You won't need as much soap, as the water here is very soft .
  • (UK, colloquial) Foolish.
  • * Burton
    • He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.
  • (physics) Of a ferromagnetic material; a material that becomes essentially non magnetic when an external magnetic field is removed, a material with a low magnetic coercivity. (compare hard)
  • (of a person) Physically or emotionally weak.
  • Incomplete, or temporary; not a full action.
    • The admin imposed a soft''' block/ban on the user or a '''soft lock on the article.
  • (UK, of a man) Effeminate.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
    • A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft , and wandering.
  • Agreeable to the senses.
    • a soft liniment
    soft wines
  • * Milton
    • the soft , delicious air
  • Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring or jagged; pleasing to the eye.
    • soft colours
    the soft outline of the snow-covered hill
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
    • The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds made the softest lights imaginable.

    Synonyms

    * (of a cloth) non-abrasive, fluffy * (gentle) gentle, light, nesh * (of a sound) quiet * (lacking strength or resolve) meek, mild, wimpy, nesh * (foolish) daft, foolish, silly, stupid

    Antonyms

    * (giving way under pressure) hard, resistant, solid, stony * (of a cloth) abrasive, scratchy * (gentle) harsh, rough, strong * (acute) hard * (of a sound) loud * (lacking strength or resolve) firm, strict, tough * (of water) hard * (foolish) sensible

    Derived terms

    * soft-boiled * soft copy * soft drink * soften * soft focus * soft-hearted * softly * softness * soft on * soft palate * soft power * soft science fiction * soft serve * soft shoe * soft soap * soft-spoken * soft touch * soft toy * software * softwood * softy

    See also

    * mollify

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (archaic) Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Soft , you; a word or two before you go.
    But, soft ! What light through yonder window breaks?

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (lb) Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly.
  • *(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • *:A knight soft riding toward them.
  • *
  • *:There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A soft or foolish person; an idiot.
    • (George Eliot)

    Statistics

    * 1000 English basic words ----

    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

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