friable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of friable
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin friābilis, equivalent to friā(re) “to rub, crumble” + -ābilis -able
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Britain is a “defiant but friable little nation floating off the edge of a continent” that itself is “an appendix of Asia.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
In 1936, the name "Ehlers-Danlos syndrome" was proposed and three cardinal symptoms were identified: joints had to be overly bendy, and skin had to be both stretchy and unusually "friable", meaning it crumbled easily.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2022
“The Feral Detective” enters that darker realm as soon as Phoebe and Heist venture into the friable wilderness far outside L.A.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 1, 2018
Tangier’s location in the center of the bay, along with its friable turf of sand and silt, leaves it dangerously exposed and fragile.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2016
But in the shade of the papaya trees the soil was dark brown, with the moist, friable feel that gardeners seek.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
