She sounded oddly hard and brittle, not to be touched.

When she spoke, her voice sounded brittle in her own ears.

Some of the anger began to break through Seven's reserve, the result being that her voice sounded far more brittle than before.

But the voice on the other end sounded brittle and frightened.

His voice sounded brittle, suddenly, and Wren backed off.

His voice sounded brittle in contrast to that of the Treasurer.

The material sounded brittle beneath his boots, like thermoplastic, but it showed no signs of wear.

Her father's words sounded brittle in her ears, as though they were being chipped out of ice.

Even with their crowd in the house, they sounded brittle indeed in the Vultures' wake.

She laughed, and if the laughter sounded a little brittle to her own ears he didn't seem to notice it.