friable.

Readily broken into small fragments or powder under modest pressure.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• friable soil
• friable rock

On the page

Friable rock broke beneath the climber’s boot.

The dry bank was so friable that a light touch loosened grains.

Usage notes

Primary category: environment. Forms: Comparative more friable; superlative most friable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.