brittle smile

Meaning

1. 1phrasecountable

   A smile that looks cheerful but seems tense and ready to break, showing hidden worry or effort.

   Grammar: Countable, so you can say 'a brittle smile' or 'brittle smiles'; it is often used with verbs like 'give' or 'manage'.

   Patterns

   • give someone a brittle smile
   • manage a brittle smile
   • with a brittle smile

   She gave the interviewer a brittle smile and said everything was fine.

   He answered with a brittle smile that did not reach his eyes.

   After the argument, they exchanged brittle smiles across the table.

Word forms

Common combinations

a brittle smile

He wore a brittle smile throughout the meeting.

give a brittle smile

She gave a brittle smile and changed the subject.

a brittle smile froze on her face

A brittle smile froze on her face when she heard the news.

with a brittle smile

'Of course,' he said with a brittle smile.

Synonyms and how they differ

forced smile

This is the everyday term; it stresses that the person is making themselves smile, while 'brittle smile' also suggests the smile looks fragile and may crack.

tight smile

A tight smile mainly shows tension around the mouth; a brittle smile suggests hidden emotion that could break through at any moment.

fixed smile

A fixed smile stays in place without changing; a brittle smile may look cheerful but feels ready to collapse.

Word family

brittle adjective

Hard but easily broken; used literally for materials and figuratively for emotions or situations.

brittleness noun

The quality of being hard and easily broken.

Commonly confused: brittle smile or bright smile?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “brittle smile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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