pliable

UK/ˈplaɪəbəl/US/ˈplaɪəbəl/

adjectiveC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,544 of 15,258neutral

Pliable means soft enough to bend into any shape. Pliable leather, pliable wire, warm and pliable.

It means bending without breaking and staying where it is put, which is what separates it from elastic — elastic springs back and pliable does not. Of a person it means easily influenced, which is not a compliment. Note ply, pliers and pliant, all from the Latin plicare, to fold.

Definitions of pliable

1adjectivepliableSoft enough to bend into any shape.C1
“Warm the clay in your hands until it's soft and pliable.”
synonyms: supple, malleable

pliable is a quality of bendiness.

Where it comes from

Old French ploiable comes from ploiier, to fold, from Latin plicare. Ply, pliers and complicated come from the same folding.

Proto-Indo-European
*pleḱ-
Old French
ploiable
English, today
pliable

Built from

ploiier · Old French — to fold

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Texture & Touch

Practise this word

pliable in the wild

Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and more pliable than the outer skin layer, though not as durable.
Suede
In contrast with hair gel, most of which contain alcohol, hair wax remains pliable and has less chance of drying out.
Hair wax
Rawhide is not pliable when dry and would be unsuitable for that use.
Rawhide (material)
Sooraya is a mutant with the ability to transform her body into a pliable cloud of dust.
Dust (character)
Wicker was first documented in ancient Egypt, then having been made from pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material.
Wicker

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the ploiier family

pliable

pliable — used about once every 23,598 pages · #13,544 · point at the bar for the others

← Vocabulary

pliable

UK/ˈplaɪəbəl/US/ˈplaɪəbəl/

adjectiveC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,544 of 15,258neutral

Pliable means soft enough to bend into any shape. Pliable leather, pliable wire, warm and pliable.

Definitions of pliable

1adjectivepliableSoft enough to bend into any shape.C1
“Warm the clay in your hands until it's soft and pliable.”
synonyms: supple, malleable

pliable is a quality of bendiness.

Where it comes from

Old French ploiable comes from ploiier, to fold, from Latin plicare. Ply, pliers and complicated come from the same folding.

Proto-Indo-European
*pleḱ-
Old French
ploiable
English, today
pliable

Built from

ploiier · Old French — to fold

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Texture & Touch

Practise this word

pliable in the wild

Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and more pliable than the outer skin layer, though not as durable.
Suede
In contrast with hair gel, most of which contain alcohol, hair wax remains pliable and has less chance of drying out.
Hair wax
Rawhide is not pliable when dry and would be unsuitable for that use.
Rawhide (material)
Sooraya is a mutant with the ability to transform her body into a pliable cloud of dust.
Dust (character)
Wicker was first documented in ancient Egypt, then having been made from pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material.
Wicker

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the ploiier family

pliable

pliable — used about once every 23,598 pages · #13,544 · point at the bar for the others