variants or less commonly flakey
flakier; flakiest
1
: consisting of flakes
flaky snow
2
: tending to flake
a flaky crust

flaky

2 of 2

adjective (2)

flakier; flakiest
1
: markedly odd or unconventional : offbeat, wacky
has some flaky ideas
He's nice, but a bit flaky.
2
informal : not reliable in performance or behavior : undependable
a flaky mechanism
You'll want to make sure that all the technology tools you need to effectively and efficiently serve clients are in full working order and that you won't need to worry about wasting time and money fixing broken hardware or flaky software.Henry B. Chace
… digital crutches trump face-to-face talking (even phone calls), encouraging people to be flaky and evasive …Charlotte Liberman

Examples of flaky in a Sentence

Adjective (1) a tender but flaky crust on the pastry
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
That’s why experts have previously recommended it to SELF for people with dehydrated, acne-prone skin, as well as anyone who deals with inflamed and flaky skin. Sara Coughlin, SELF, 30 Apr. 2025 Mild and flaky filets like flounder, halibut, perch, any snappers and turbot are great in stews, soups, rice dishes, or even battered or breaded and fried. Noah Galuten, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025 Ritz Hot Honey Crackers Ritz Hot Honey Crackers are a flaky and delicious snack with a rich, buttery, sweet and spicy hot honey flavor. Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025 The pastries are made on the island at Firebrand Artisan Breads and so large, the flaky ham-and-cheese croissant ($4.25) requires two bags. Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for flaky

Word History

Etymology

Adjective (1)

see flake entry 1

Adjective (2)

flake entry 4

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (2)

circa 1963, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flaky was in 1580

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flaky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flaky. Accessed 9 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

flaky

adjective
ˈflā-kē
flakier; flakiest
1
: consisting of flakes
2
: tending to flake
pie with a crisp flaky crust
3
: odd or strange in behavior
4
informal : not reliable : undependable
flakily
-kə-lē
adverb
flakiness
-kē-nəs
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!