as in brittle
having a texture that readily breaks into little pieces under pressure
a crumbly shortbread cookie
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crumbly
The expanse of a cookie, its crumbly craters and molten rivulets, is a playground for the pastry chef.
—
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2025
Other types of flour will work, but the texture will be different – more crumbly, possibly gritty.
—Kristen Browning-Blas, Denver Post, 12 Nov. 2025
But the results were papering over some crumbly performances.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Unlike the crumbly texture of an Oreo (from which the Exploremores take clear inspiration), the first bite delivered a pleasingly soft and slightly chewy texture, along with a subtle hint of marshmallow.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crumbly
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2025
Other types of flour will work, but the texture will be different – more crumbly, possibly gritty.
—Kristen Browning-Blas, Denver Post, 12 Nov. 2025
But the results were papering over some crumbly performances.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Unlike the crumbly texture of an Oreo (from which the Exploremores take clear inspiration), the first bite delivered a pleasingly soft and slightly chewy texture, along with a subtle hint of marshmallow.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crumbly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crumbly
Adjective
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Traditional robotics has addressed this by separating locomotion and manipulation into distinct controllers linked by state machines, resulting in slow, brittle, and unnatural behavior.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
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It's typically dried rather than eaten raw, with a brittle shell and stringy pulp that's traditionally cracked open and steeped to make a mildly sweet, herbal tea.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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While early spring temperatures tend to be crisp, a breezy V-neck sweater is a staple layer to have on hand.—
Nicol Natale,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
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When the weather warms up, try a blazer and a miniskirt or a crisp button-down and long denim shorts.—
Jake Henry Smith,
Glamour,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Those unregulated hazardous substances include liquid waste, friable, asbestos wastes and combustion wastes.—
Stuart Dyos,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Dec. 2025
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Texture comes into play here, as well, with wispy nests of friable katayifi topping each scallop.—
Rachel Bernhard,
jsonline.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crumbly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crumbly. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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