friable
/ˈfɹaɪəbl̩/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.02 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of soil, loose and large-grained in consistency.
adj
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."
- "Sand has been incorporated to make the soil more friable."
- "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."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: friābilis
Inflected Forms
more friable (comparative)
most friable (superlative)