What does ductile mean?
Word: Ductile
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Ductile means able to be drawn out into a thin wire without breaking, used of metals such as copper and gold.
Antonyms: brittle
Word origin: From Latin ductilis, through French.
How do you spell ductile?
Syllables: duc - tile
Tricky part: The ending is tile, as in a floor tile, and in British English it is said like tile too; students often write ductle or ductil.
Watch out for: ductle, ductil, ductyle
Memory tip: Picture copper wire stretched thin across a tiled bathroom floor: a ductile metal can be drawn out, and the word ends in tile.
Ductile in a sentence
Example 1: Our science teacher bent a ductile copper wire into the shape of a star.
Example 2: Engineers choose ductile steel for bridges because it bends before it breaks.
Example 3: The goldsmith in Thrissur drew the ductile gold into fine threads for a bangle.
Fun Fact
Gold is one of the most ductile metals of all: a tiny amount can be drawn into a wire thinner than a human hair.
Practise the CREST Way
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Ductile goes back to the Latin verb ducere. What did ducere mean?
a) to lead
b) to break
c) to melt
d) to shine
Show answer
a) to lead. Ducere meant to lead or draw, the same root found in conduct and aqueduct; a ductile metal can be drawn out into wire.
Sound Check
In which word is 'u' pronounced differently?
a) ductile
b) buckle
c) ruby
d) muffin
Show answer
c) ruby. Ruby has the long oo sound of moon; ductile, buckle and muffin have the short u of cup.
Word Tally
Give 3 marks for each correctly spelt word. How many marks in all?
copper, aluminium, ductile, tungstan, nickle
a) 15
b) 12
c) 9
d) 6
Show answer
c) 9. Tungsten ends in ten and nickel in el, so only copper, aluminium and ductile score: 3 x 3 = 9 marks.
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) fertile
b) futtile
c) ductile
d) versatile
Show answer
b) futtile. Futile, meaning useless, has only one t before the ile; ductile, fertile and versatile are all correct.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Copper is used for electric cables partly because it is ductile. This means it ___.
a) does not let heat pass through
b) can be drawn out into thin wire
c) is very light to carry
d) never changes colour in air
Show answer
b) can be drawn out into thin wire
2. Which of these materials is NOT ductile?
a) copper
b) silver
c) glass
d) gold
Show answer
c) glass
