Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Easily bent or shaped. See Synonyms at malleable.
- adj. Receptive to change; adaptable: pliable attitudes.
- adj. Easily influenced, persuaded, or swayed; tractable.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Easy to be bent; readily yielding to force or pressure without rupture; flexible: as, willow is a pliable plant.
- Flexible in disposition; easy to be bent, inclined, or persuaded; readily yielding to influence, arguments, persuasion, or discipline.
- Synonyms Pliant, supple.
- Compliant, yielding, tractable.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Capable of being plied, turned, or bent; easy to be bent; flexible; pliant; supple; limber; yielding.
- adj. Flexible in disposition; readily yielding to influence, arguments, persuasion, or discipline; easy to be persuaded; -- sometimes in a bad sense.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. able to adjust readily to different conditions
- adj. capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out
- adj. susceptible to being led or directed
- adj. capable of being bent or flexed or twisted without breaking
Etymologies
- Middle English, from Old French, from plier, to bend; see pliant.
Examples
“OLEDs come in pliable, layered sheets which conduct and emit light, making them great for screens and display monitors.”
“She likes that these younger players are more " pliable, " a quality that she came to miss as her WNBA career continued.”
The Wall Street Journal: Back to School for a Basketball Coach
“Furthermore, the fact that Washington's goal in Iraq is complete control of that territory either directly or via some kind of pliable government seems to indicate that the mercenaries will be there awhile.”
“Building flexibility into search, email, and other Google products is critically important as we seek to organize the world's information, and it's only natural that we should continue to look for ways to make the use of such statistics more "pliable" as well.”
“The end of their trunk feels firm but kind of pliable, like the cartilage in the end of your own nose.”
“Jordan, angry and insulted, would have none of it, and suggested that the police find someone more "pliable," telling the powers that be to take him or leave him.”
“The word "ratings" is not some kind of pliable, esoteric concept.”
“As we get deeper into the n|om, our body becomes so light and pliable that we can feel ourselves stretching.”
“Brush the bread with enough olive oil to soften and make pliable 1/4 cup of olive oil should be plenty.”
“If I'd put in the same years cow-punching, with my body young and pliable, I wouldn't be rolling now, but I'd be bow - legged.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pliable’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
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October Words-10033
During the month of October, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has a...
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Words from news
crackler, despondent, niche, instantiation, pliable, progenitor
kmassie From the book White Oleander by Janet Fitch. Pg.43
"I saw that her face was melted and horribly pliable." Oct 31, 2010
hernesheir The name of the one was Obstinate and the name of the other Pliable.
John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress Sep 19, 2009