Meaning

Easily broken into small fragments, crumbled, or reduced to powder..

Definitions by Sense

1. Easily broken into small fragments, crumbled, or reduced to powder.
2. (geology) Of soil, loose and large-grained in consistency.
3. (toxicology) Of a poison, likely to crumble and become airborne, thus becoming a health risk.
4. (mathematics) Of a number: smooth, that factors completely into small prime numbers.

Example Sentences

Spiders had woven their vague trapezes between the friable heads of dead peonies in enormous glass jars streaked with tide marks where the water had evaporated long ago.

This light, friable type of material offered excellent insulation against both desert heat and also the cold of darkness during the winter.

So while two men under his directions were digging the grave with sticks in the friable granitic soil, he superintended the costume of the other actors in the drama.

It is when asbestos-containing products are friable that hazardous asbestos fibers are likely to be released and sent airborne.

Word Forms

• more friable
• most friable

Synonyms for friable

Related Words

When Should You Use Friable?

Use friable when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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