flakiness

1 of 2

noun (1)

flak·​i·​ness ˈflā-kē-nəs 

: the quality or state of being composed of flakes or of tending to separate into or peel in flakes

The flour (high or low protein) plays a role in the final tenderness of pastry, but it's the amount and distribution of the fat through the flour that determine the pastry's flakiness.

—Shirley Corriher

flakiness

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: lack of reliability : the tendency to behave or perform undependably

Mobile phones make it all too easy to cancel plans at the last minute, but social flakiness isn't a recipe for health and happiness—or good for our relationships.

—Anna Hart

This free utility takes a look at your hard drives and ferrets out any physical errors it finds, so you know what might be causing random crashes or system flakiness.

—Lisa Hoover

2

: peculiarity or eccentricity in thinking or behavior

Others claim [Millicent] Fenwick's eccentricity borders on flakiness. Once, during a House debate on whether federal election ballots should be bilingual, Fenwick got up and spoke in fluent Spanish—not on the issue, but on the aesthetic merits of a beautiful language.

—Gioia Diliberto

While aromatherapy has a whiff of new age flakiness about it … there's nothing new or remotely flaky about it.

—Margaret Bream

Examples of flakiness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Others mistakenly describe these acts as flakiness, disobedience, laziness, or personal failure in the absence of context. —Gretchen Wittenmyer-Stone, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2026

Gentle exfoliants are essential for all skin types, especially those that are prone to flakiness. —Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 2 Apr. 2026

Salt bread is croissant-esque in taste and form, but is not laminated, or repeatedly folding dough with layers of butter, which creates the croissant’s hallmark flakiness. —Elena Kadvany, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Feb. 2026

Less water also means less steam during baking, which can improve the flakiness of laminated doughs like croissants and puff pastry. —Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1681, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1965, in the meaning defined at sense 2