ductility

American  

[duhk-til-i-tee] / dʌkˈtɪl ɪ ti /

noun

1. the capacity to undergo a change of physical form without breaking; malleability or flexibility.

   High ductility and very low hardness made gold easy to work using primitive techniques.

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Other Word Forms

• nonductility noun

Etymology

Origin of ductility

ductil(e) ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Compare meaning

How does ductility compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• ductility vs. malleability

Explanation

Ductility is the quality of being pliable and flexible, like a piece of metal that can be bent into a thin wire. Metals like silver, lead, and copper have ductility — a metalsmith can bend, hammer, and even stretch these materials without breaking or shattering them. Things like Silly Putty and Play-Doh also have ductility, but your ceramic mug and plastic sunglasses don't. Ductility and the adjective ductile are rooted in the Latin ductilis, "able to be led or drawn."

Example Sentences

The material provides the strength, corrosion resistance and ductility required for demanding applications such as vehicle underbodies, frame elements and other key structural parts.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

But older brick buildings “don’t necessarily have a lot of ductility because they’re constructed from brittle materials,” she added, and lack reinforcement like steel that can help provide that flexibility.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2023

Toughness comes from a blend of high strength and ductility, and it varies depending on the details of a structure, even if the material itself doesn't change.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 11, 2019

Some of the properties of metals in general, such as their malleability and ductility, are largely due to having identical atoms arranged in a regular pattern.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Story-writers like Trollope, Mrs. Edwards, and McCarthy amaze us at the ductility which the English tongue assumes for them.

From The Galaxy, April, 1877 Vol. XXIII.—April, 1877.—No. 4. by Various