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ductile

ductile

1 7.3
Can be stretched into a thin wire without breaking
  • adjective
  • /ˈdʌk.tɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ductil
  • Due to the ductile behavior of the headed shear studs, shear force can be successfully redistributed among the shear connectors.
  • ductile iron
  • ductile pipe
  • ductile steel

Could you clarify why something is, for example, ductile versus brittle?

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Examples

  • Structural parts are made of high-strength ductile iron, and runners are made of UHMW polymer with a low coefficient of friction.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Specimens with high fiber content generally showed more ductile post-peak behavior and higher fracture energy.

    Academic text (2016)

  • These are stiff, strong, ductile, brittle, tough, and hard.

  • And this transition here from high impact strength to low impact strength is called the ductile to brittle transition.

  • Could you clarify why something is, for example, ductile versus brittle?

    MIT OpenCourseWare

  • The pipe features ductile iron durability and epoxy-coated joints.

    Academic text (1997)

  • It's a soft, malleable and rather ductile element that exhibits a bright, silvery luster.

  • One can render ceramics ductile (capable of easier deformation) by synthesizing them from clusters with sizes below about 15 nm.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Copper is a ductile metal, allowing it to be easily drawn into thin wires without breaking.

  • When heated, aluminum becomes ductile and can be shaped into various forms for construction.

Synonyms

pliable
vsductile
8 4.2

Easy to bend or shape

is focused on metal forming and wire drawing, not general adaptability
malleable
vsductile
  • Specialized
3 6.0

A material you can shape and bend without breaking, like gold or clay

is more about being stretched into wire rather than reshaped by hammering
pliant
vsductile
3 5.6

Easily bent or shaped without breaking

applies to metals that can be stretched into wire rather than general bending
tractile
vsductile
  • Specialized
9.9

Able to be stretched into thin wire without breaking

covers bending and molding metals as well as being drawn into wire

Antonyms

rigid
35 4.0

Does not bend because it is stiff

brittle
31 3.9

Hard and likely to break

How Ductile

malleable
  • Specialized
3 6.0
ductile
  • Specialized
1 7.3
pliable
8 4.2
stiff
127 1.7
brittle
31 3.9

Surface Forms

ductile positive
ductiler comparative
ductilest superlative

Morphology

ductile = duct (opaque) = duct + ile

The formation from Latin root 'duct-' + '-ile' is not clear to learners because the modern English 'duct' (a tube) does not convey the metal‑working sense, so the base does not help infer the meaning.

Etymology

Ductile comes from the Latin root duc- / ducere 'to lead', the same root you see in duct and conduct. So a ductile metal is one that can be 'led' or pulled into a thin wire or shaped without breaking.