variants or less commonly flakey
flakier; flakiest
Synonyms of flakynext
1
: consisting of flakes
flaky snow
2
: tending to flake
a flaky crust

flaky

2 of 2

adjective (2)

flakier; flakiest
1
: markedly odd or unconventional : offbeat, wacky
has some flaky ideas
He's nice, but a bit flaky.
2
informal : not reliable in performance or behavior : undependable
a flaky mechanism
You'll want to make sure that all the technology tools you need to effectively and efficiently serve clients are in full working order and that you won't need to worry about wasting time and money fixing broken hardware or flaky software.Henry B. Chace
… digital crutches trump face-to-face talking (even phone calls), encouraging people to be flaky and evasive …Charlotte Liberman

Examples of flaky in a Sentence

Adjective (1) a tender but flaky crust on the pastry
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
The flaky, buttery dough comes together easily in a food processor and is rolled out and crimped into a free-form round. The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026 Despite the once flaky, fringey, fantastical topic under discussion, the vibe was clearly not Burning Man, Comic Con, or South by Southwest. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Aug. 2026 Here are two habits that read as flaky from the outside and, more often than people assume, signal the opposite. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Guests who check in on Friday and Saturday also rave about the flaky pastries baked every weekend. Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for flaky

Word History

Etymology

Adjective (1)

see flake entry 1

Adjective (2)

flake entry 4

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (2)

circa 1963, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flaky was in 1580

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flaky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flaky. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

Kids Definition

flaky

adjective
ˈflā-kē
flakier; flakiest
1
: consisting of flakes
2
: tending to flake
pie with a crisp flaky crust
3
: odd or strange in behavior
4
informal : not reliable : undependable
flakily
-kə-lē
adverb
flakiness
-kē-nəs
noun
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