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

Women were complaining of redness, flakiness, or peeling with the use of tretinoin, a retinoid that promotes collagen synthesis and elastin renewal. — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 23 June 2026

And agents introduce a new form of flakiness stemming from the fact that LLMs are non-deterministic. — Ethan Pronev, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1681, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1965, in the meaning defined at sense 2