docile
Americanadjective
-
easily managed or handled; tractable.
a docile horse.
- Synonyms:
- obedient, malleable, manageable
-
readily trained or taught; teachable.
adjective
-
easy to manage, control, or discipline; submissive
-
rare ready to learn; easy to teach
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing docile
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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.
The more docile American bison are sometimes seen in US circuses for human entertainment, he explained.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Maybe I’d just cultivated too much shark knowledge, well aware that these apex predators are docile and do not hunt humans like they do in Peter Benchley’s novel.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
While Tayane Dalazen was bitten by a nurse shark - known as a more docile species - some influencers have been filmed touching tiger sharks and even great whites.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
This time they touched down on the back of a thumping 3-0 one-day defeat in New Zealand and criticism over scheduling -- just a single three-day red-ball warm-up on a docile pitch.
From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025
Spherical in shape and covered in soft, custard-coloured fur, it is a docile creature that has no objection to being cuddled or thrown about.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
