friable
/ˈfɹaɪəbl̩/adjective
friable is spelled F-R-I-A-B-L-E: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 92,628th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, friable means “Easily broken into small fragments, crumbled, or reduced to powder” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in friable?
| Letters | 7: F-R-I-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 92,628th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is friable?
Friable appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 92,628th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce friable?
- /ˈfɹaɪəbl̩/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-friable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of friable
- more friable comparative
- most friable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does friable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Easily broken into small fragments, crumbled, or reduced to powder.
- 2
Of soil, loose and large-grained in consistency.
Sand has been incorporated to make the soil more friable.
- 3
Of a poison, likely to crumble and become airborne, thus becoming a health risk.
- 4
Of a number: smooth, that factors completely into small prime numbers.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Friable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | friable, cassant , lâche |
| German | bröselig, mürbe, brüchig, krümelig, bröckelig, zerreibbar |
| Portuguese | friável |
| Spanish | friable, frágil, quebradizo, desmenuzable , flojo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does friable come from?
Borrowed from French friable, from Latin friābilis (“friable”), from friō (“to crumble”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).