as in brittle
having a texture that readily breaks into little pieces under pressure
a crumbly shortbread cookie
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Recent Examples of crumbly
Non-crumbly Protein Bars Speaking of protein, Whitmore, Hirst, and Grotts are also fond of protein bars.
—
Karla Walsh, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
This interesting variation has far better chocolate than the original, but the filling is crumbly and tastes more like oil than peanut butter.
—Jolene Thym, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026
Lattafa Pride Artisan Ethnique Eau de Parfum Imagine a crumbly cinnamon cake dipped in an espresso martini with notes of warm cinnamon, rum, sugar, coffee, and vanilla.
—Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 5 Feb. 2026
Watch for pedestal logs, remnants of ancient trees perched atop a crumbly stand of thick clay as if on display.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crumbly
Karla Walsh, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
This interesting variation has far better chocolate than the original, but the filling is crumbly and tastes more like oil than peanut butter.
—Jolene Thym, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026
Lattafa Pride Artisan Ethnique Eau de Parfum Imagine a crumbly cinnamon cake dipped in an espresso martini with notes of warm cinnamon, rum, sugar, coffee, and vanilla.
—Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 5 Feb. 2026
Watch for pedestal logs, remnants of ancient trees perched atop a crumbly stand of thick clay as if on display.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crumbly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumbly
Adjective
-
Hit hospital systems and ordinary life starts to feel brittle.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Foote records as Leech, runs the great Peak Oil label, and is general manager of the storied Kranky, while Dickow has amassed a vast catalog of brittle yet voluptuous electronic music as Strategy.—
Daniel Bromfield,
Pitchfork,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Mayer envisioned rocking chairs, crisp linens and tasty dinners.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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Thursday is a transitional day, one of those crisp, blue-sky days that require sunglasses and a sweater.—
Greg Porter,
San Francisco Chronicle,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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However, the fragile and friable nature of aged amber likely posed a significant challenge to its removal.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
10 Mar. 2026
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Those unregulated hazardous substances include liquid waste, friable, asbestos wastes and combustion wastes.—
Stuart Dyos,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crumbly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumbly. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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