adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pliable
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from French, equivalent to pli(er) “to fold, bend” ( see ply 2) + -able -able
Explanation
Pliable means bendable but not breakable. Wax is pliable, good leather is pliable. If you describe a person as pliable, it usually means that he's easily influenced. When Madame barks "Plier!" (rhymes with "okay") in ballet class, all the students obediently bend their knees into a graceful semi-crouch. Plier is French for bend and it's the root of the word pliable. The word pliable itself is quite pliable, an apt description for everything from building materials to a person's character.
Vocabulary lists containing pliable
Power Suffix: -able
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT words Beginning with "P"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pliable muscles, which are not the same as flexible muscles, are “soft” and not “dense,” he and Mr. Brady assert.
From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2017
Pliable rubber making contact with asphalt doesn't seem as if it would produce a lot of noise but in fact it does, and in a lot of ways.
From Time Magazine Archive
We all get the company of Mr. Pliable, who is persuaded without being convinced, who at the first splash into difficulty crawls out and turns back with a cowardly adroitness.
From Mystic London: or, Phases of occult life in the metropolis by Davies, Charles Maurice
"About Mount Zion, and the Crowns of Glory, and the Harps of Gold, and such like," said Pliable uneasily—"at least, it is said so; so 'tis said."
From Henry Brocken His Travels and Adventures in the Rich, Strange, Scarce-Imaginable Regions of Romance by De la Mare, Walter
He was like those gentlemen in the Pilgrim's Progress whom Bunyan names Mr Facing-both-ways and Mr Pliable.
From Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known Characters by Milligan, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
