What is referred to as the ability of a material to be bent easily without breaking?

The ability of a material to be bent easily without breaking is known as flexibility. This characteristic allows materials to withstand forces or strains without cracking or snapping. For instance, rubber bands exhibit high flexibility, enabling them to stretch and return to their original shape without damage.

Ductility, although similar, specifically refers to a material's ability to deform under tensile stress, allowing it to be drawn into wires, which is not the same as being simply bent. Stiffness refers to a material's resistance to deformation, meaning stiffer materials do not bend easily. Brittleness describes materials that break or shatter without significant deformation when stressed, showing no ability to bend at all. Thus, flexibility is the term that accurately describes a material that can be bent without breaking.