docile

American  

[dos-uhl, doh-sahyl] / ˈdɒs əl, ˈdoʊ saɪl /

adjective

1. easily managed or handled; tractable.

   a docile horse.

   Synonyms:

   obedient, malleable, manageable

2. readily trained or taught; teachable.

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docile British  

/ ˈdəʊsaɪl, dəʊˈsɪlɪtɪ /

adjective

1. easy to manage, control, or discipline; submissive

2. rare ready to learn; easy to teach

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Other Word Forms

• docilely
  adverb
• docility
  noun

Etymology

Origin of docile

First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin docilis “readily taught,” equivalent to doc(ēre) “to teach” + -ilis adjective suffix ( see -ile)

Explanation

If someone is docile, he is easily taught or handled. If you suddenly became a trouble-maker in class, your teachers would long for the days when you were sweet and docile. Docile comes from Latin root for teaching, docere, so someone docile is easy to teach. A docile student is willing to be taught. A docile animal is easy to handle. If you behave well and do what people tell you to do, you're a docile person. Docile might be a word of praise, but it can also be a criticism of someone for being overly submissive. Some synonyms are amenable and compliant.

Example Sentences

Take modern hens on poultry farms: Docile and thick-thighed, they are sometimes harvested in as few as five weeks and bear little resemblance to their wild ancestors.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2023

Docile means that they don’t usually resist when you try to milk them.

From Washington Post • Mar. 13, 2022

That said, "Docile" is a gripping work of science fiction that punches up in the direction of the current powers that be.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2020

Docile, the landscape might forget we’re even there; vocal, we will survive.

From The Guardian • Jun. 1, 2015

“Different men, different methods. Docile men make very poor soldiers.”

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Related Words

• easygoing
• gentle
• laid-back
• meek
• obedient
• pliable
• pliant
• well-behaved