supple

[suhp-uhl]

adjective

suppler, supplest 

1. bending readily without breaking or becoming deformed; pliant; flexible.

   a supple bough.

2. characterized by ease in bending; limber; lithe.

   supple movements.

3. characterized by ease, responsiveness, and adaptability in mental action.

4. compliant or yielding.

5. obsequious; servile.

verb (used with or without object)

suppled, suppling 

1. to make or become supple.

supple

/ ˈsʌpəl /

adjective

1. bending easily without damage

2. capable of or showing easy or graceful movement; lithe

3. mentally flexible; responding readily

4. disposed to agree, sometimes to the point of servility

verb

1. rare,  to make or become supple

Other Word Forms

• suppleness noun
• unsupple adjective
• unsuppleness noun
• unsupply adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of supple¹

1250–1300; (adj.) Middle English souple flexible, compliant < Old French: soft, yielding, lithe < Latin supplic- (stem of supplex ) submissive, suppliant, equivalent to sup- sup- + -plic-, variously explained as akin to plicāre to fold ¹, bend (thus meaning “bent over”; complex ), or to plācāre to placate ¹ (thus meaning “in the attitude of a suppliant”); (v.) Middle English supplen to soften, derivative of the noun (compare Old French asoplir )

Word History and Origins

Origin of supple¹

C13: from Old French souple, from Latin supplex bowed

Example Sentences

Showy but intimate, talky yet supple, it’s murmuring assurances to rebut the very doubts he’s raising.

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The star might be 79 years old, but his voice is still unusually supple and youthful, cutting through the night with crystalline clarity, and buoyed by The Chrome Hearts' close-knit harmonies.

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Years later, though, I tried lightly-grilled tofu that was soft and supple, with a lingering flavor.

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His firm is suppling Amtrak's new high-speed trains, but he questions whether the US has the political will "to spend the public purse on rail versus other modes of transportation".

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Vasan, who is as supple as she is solid, is costumed to accentuate the physical reality of a woman about to give birth.

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Related Words

• agile 
• elastic 
• flexible 
• graceful 
• limber 
• lithe 
• malleable 
• pliable 
• pliant 
• resilient 
• springy 
• svelte 
• wiry