flaky
1 of 2adjective (1)
ˈflā-kē 
variants or less commonly flakey
flakier; flakiest
1
: consisting of flakes
flaky snow
2
: tending to flake
a flaky crust
flaky
2 of 2adjective (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
Henry B. Chace… digital crutches trump face-to-face talking (even phone calls), encouraging people to be flaky and evasive … Charlotte Liberman
Charlotte Liberman
Synonyms
Adjective (1)
- brickle [dialect]
- brittle
- crisp
- crispy
- crumbly
- embrittled
- friable
- short
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
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
Kids Definition
flaky
adjective
ˈflā-kē
flakier; flakiest
: tending to break apart into small thin flat pieces
a flaky pie crust
flaky
adjective
variants also flakey
as in brittle
having a texture that readily breaks into little pieces under pressure a tender but flaky crust on the pastry Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- brittle
- crisp
- crisped
- crispy
- crumbly
- friable
- crusty
- crunchy
- short
- brickle
- delicate
- embrittled
- crackly
- fragile
- breakable
- crispened
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- flexible
- elastic
- tough
- pliable
- resilient
- pliant
- sturdy
- strong