Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The shattering effect of the sudden release of energy in an explosion.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun the shattering or crushing effect of a sudden release of energy as in an explosion; -- used especially as a measure of such a shattering power, applied to high explosives.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The shattering effect of the energy released in an explosion.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the shattering or crushing effect of a sudden release of energy as in an explosion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from brisant, present participle of briser, to break, from Old French brisier, from Vulgar Latin *brisiāre, perhaps of Celtic origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French brisant, present participle of briser ("to break").

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Examples

Comments

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  • "One explanation was that half-filled acetylene tanks wrapped around the explosives not only served to enhance the brisance of the charge - the destructive fragmentation effect - but also to ensure the obliteration of the explosives along with the driver and detonator." Robert Baer, See No Evil, p67.

    December 8, 2006