Link Centre Dictionary

pliant

UK/ˈplaɪənt/ US/ˈplaɪʌnt/ uncommon

adjective

1.

capable of being influenced or formed

  • “the plastic minds of children”
  • “a pliant nature”
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 English pliaunt, from Old French ploiant, present participle of ploiier (“to fold”).

Related words

Word family

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.