quebradizo

Quebradizo is a Spanish adjective meaning brittle or crumbly, used to describe materials that fracture easily under stress. In geology, petrology, and materials science, the term applies to rocks, minerals, soils, and manufactured substances that lack toughness and tend to break with little deformation. In everyday language, it can describe fragile objects or surfaces, for example a “quebradizo metal” or “arcilla quebradiza.”

Etymology and usage notes: the word derives from quebrar, “to break,” combined with the adjectival suffix -izo, which furnishes terms indicating a characteristic tendency. The form quebradizo is masculine; the feminine is quebradiza, and both agree with the noun they modify.

Geology, soils, and engineering: quebradizo behavior is associated with low cohesion, poor cementation, or high porosity in rocks and soils. Materials described as quebradizo may powder, crumble, or fracture with minimal applied force, affecting handling, excavation, slope stability, and foundation design. In practice, observers may assess quebradizo characteristics through field impressions of fragility, as well as laboratory tests that measure unconfined compressive strength or indirect indicators of brittleness. Such properties are important for risk assessment in construction, mining, and geotechnical engineering, where brittle materials can influence failure modes and stability.

See also: brittle materials, rock mechanics, soil cohesion, fragmentation. The term is primarily used in Spanish-language technical writing and is typically translated into English as brittle or crumbly, depending on context.