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We employ periodic density functional calculations to explore the effect of cyclic tensile loading on the behavior of alumina in the threshold region of crack formation, i.e., where the crystal must choose between healing a defect through a uniform elastic strain of the material or creating two free surfaces. We find evidence for nanoscale fatigue when the alumina lattice is subjected to uniaxial tensile loading and unloading. It is likely that such atomic-scale fatigue impacts the durability of ceramics, since the highly ionic bonding requires near-ideal lattice structures in order to maintain cohesive strength.