malleable

[mal-ee-uh-buhl]

adjective

1. capable of being extended or shaped by hammering or by pressure from rollers.

2. adaptable or tractable.

   the malleable mind of a child.

   Synonyms: pliable, flexible, moldable, impressionable
   Antonyms: intractable, refractory

malleable

/ ˈmælɪəbəl /

adjective

1. (esp of metal) able to be worked, hammered, or shaped under pressure or blows without breaking

2. able to be influenced; pliable or tractable

malleable

1. Capable of great deformation without breaking, when subject to compressive stress. Gold is the most malleable metal.

2. Compare ductile

Other Word Forms

• malleably adverb
• malleability noun
• malleableness noun
• nonmalleable adjective
• unmalleable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of malleable¹

1350–1400; Middle English malliable < Medieval Latin malleābilis, equivalent to malle ( āre ) to hammer (derivative of Latin malleus hammer) + -ābilis -able

Word History and Origins

Origin of malleable¹

C14: via Old French from Medieval Latin malleābilis, from Latin malleus hammer

Example Sentences

By reframing age as something malleable, these tests motivate healthier choices.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The layered effect is magical—as if the vessel were malleable, atmospheric, and the figures were frolicking within its translucent skin.

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Still, the point is made: Truth is a malleable thing, prone to erasure and distortion, yet we need it more than ever.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Morrow poses this riddle to an unsuspecting Hybrid once he figures out their adult bodies are governed by the malleable, gullible minds of children.

Read more on Salon

That doesn’t mean that modern moviegoing should be intimidating, only that it’s malleable, and that you can be just as flexible with the films you see.

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Related Words

• adaptable 
• flexible 
• supple 
• workable