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
Using 2 forks, cut in 1/2 cup of the cold butter until mixture is crumbly.
—
Hannah Taylor, Southern Living, 24 Jan. 2025
Lentils and couscous are two great components (as are barley and bulgur), which, with some egg to bind everything, give you the crumbly texture that ground meat normally does.
—Yotam Ottolenghi, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
If your pecan sandies are crumbly, they're meant to be!
—Micah A Leal, Southern Living, 17 Dec. 2024
The hamper also comes with two bottles of wine and a selection of sweet treats – the chocolate truffles and crumbly biscuits with walnuts and raisins were delicious.
—Irenie Forshaw, The Week Uk, theweek, 2 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for crumbly
Hannah Taylor, Southern Living, 24 Jan. 2025
Lentils and couscous are two great components (as are barley and bulgur), which, with some egg to bind everything, give you the crumbly texture that ground meat normally does.
—Yotam Ottolenghi, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
If your pecan sandies are crumbly, they're meant to be!
—Micah A Leal, Southern Living, 17 Dec. 2024
The hamper also comes with two bottles of wine and a selection of sweet treats – the chocolate truffles and crumbly biscuits with walnuts and raisins were delicious.
—Irenie Forshaw, The Week Uk, theweek, 2 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for crumbly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumbly
Adjective
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Osteoporosis causes the bones to become incredibly brittle.—
Caroline C. Boyle,
USA Today,
21 Apr. 2025
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If polyethylene and polypropylene aren’t completely separated during recycling, the resulting mix can be brittle and generally unusable for creating new products.—
Alex Jordan,
The Conversation,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The Magic weren’t always crisp with the ball, and the Celtics took full advantage.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2025
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The opener was clinical — the result of crisp interplay, yes, but also discipline.—
Colin Cerniglia,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crumbly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumbly. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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