friable
/ˈfɹaɪəbl̩/ adjective
- adjective Easily broken into small fragments, crumbled, or reduced to powder.
- adjective (geology) Of soil, loose and large-grained in consistency. “Sand has been incorporated to make the soil more friable.”
- adjective (toxicology) Of a poison, likely to crumble and become airborne, thus becoming a health risk.
- adjective (mathematics) Of a number: smooth, that factors completely into small prime numbers.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French friable, from Latin friābilis (“friable”), from friō (“to crumble”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “friable”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details