bruchanfälliger

bruchanfällig is an adjective in German that describes something with a high likelihood of breaking or fracturing under stress or impact. The comparative form bruchanfälliger is used to compare two objects or situations, indicating that the first is more prone to breakage than the second. The corresponding noun form is Bruchanfälligkeit.

Etymology and usage context: The term is formed from Bruch, meaning break or fracture, and anfällig, meaning prone or susceptible. It is widely used in technical, industrial, and everyday language to characterize materials, components, or goods that are not resistant to damage. For example, a thin-walled plastic housing may be bruchanfälliger than a metal one, and packaging described as bruchanfällig is more likely to suffer damage during transport.

Typical domains and examples: In engineering and product design, bruchanfällig describes materials with low fracture toughness or low impact resistance, such as brittle ceramics or certain polymers under stress. In logistics or retail, bruchanfällige Ware refers to goods that are easily damaged in transit. In medical contexts, bones or structures can be described as bruchanfällig when conditions like osteoporosis increase fracture risk, though more common terminology tends to be osteoporosis-related.

Relation to related terms: The opposite of bruchanfällig can be expressed with bruchsicher, bruchfest, or bruchresistent, meaning break-resistant or fracture-proof. The word is typically written as a single compound and remains lowercase in regular text: bruchanfällig.