Link Centre Dictionary

pliable

UK/ˈplaɪəbəl/ US/ˈplaɪʌbʌl/ rare

adjective

1.

susceptible to being led or directed

  • “fictile masses of people ripe for propaganda”
Synonyms
2.

able to adjust readily to different conditions

  • “an adaptable person”
  • “a flexible personality”
  • “an elastic clause in a contract”
3.

capable of being bent or flexed or twisted without breaking

  • “a flexible wire”
  • “a pliant young tree”
Similar
4.

capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out

  • “ductile copper”
  • “malleable metals such as gold”
  • “they soaked the leather to made it pliable”
  • “pliant molten glass”
  • “made of highly tensile steel alloy”

Origin

From Middle French, from Old French ploiable, from ploiier (“to fold”). By surface analysis, ply + -able. Compare pliant.

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.