What term describes the opposite of ductility?

• A. Brittleness
• B. Cold Shut
• C. Elasticity
• D. Hardness

Answer: (A)

Ductility is the capacity of a material to deform plastically before fracturing, so the term that describes the opposite behavior is brittleness: a brittle material fractures with little or no plastic deformation, often with a sudden break under stress. This matters in design because brittle failures can occur without warning, especially at low temperatures or high strain rates, making such materials less forgiving in load cases. The other terms don’t capture this behavior: a cold shut is a casting defect from incomplete fusion, elasticity describes reversible deformation after loading, and hardness is about resistance to indentation rather than how much a material can deform before failure.