pulverulence

pulverulence

The old book crumbled into pulverulence at the slightest touch.

Definition

Noun: - The state or quality of being pulverulent: "pulverulence" refers to the condition of being composed of fine dust or powder; the property of being reduced to a powdery or dusty form.

Usage Examples
  • (The state of being powdery and fragile.)
  • (The fine, dusty quality of the ash.)
  • (The powdery nature of the soil.)
Advanced Usage
  • "in a state of pulverulence": describing something that is extremely dry and reduced to dust.
    • After centuries of decay, the old book's pages were in a state of pulverulence. (The pages had become powdery and brittle.)
Variants and Related Words
  • Pulverulent (adj): consisting of or resembling fine dust; powdery.

    • The pulverulent residue on the shelf was left by the disintegrated plaster. (The powdery residue.)
  • Pulverize (verb): to reduce to fine particles or dust.

    • The machine can pulverize rocks into sand. (To crush into powder.)
Synonyms
  • Powderiness: the quality of being like powder.
  • Dustiness: the state of being full of or covered with dust.
  • Friability: the tendency of a solid substance to break into small pieces or powder.
Related Idioms
  • To be reduced to pulverulence: to become completely broken down into dust or powder.
    • The ancient stone carving, exposed to wind and rain for millennia, was reduced to pulverulence. (It had eroded into fine dust.)