docile

[ dos-uhl; British doh-sahyl ]
See synonyms for: dociledocility on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. easily managed or handled; tractable: a docile horse.

  2. readily trained or taught; teachable.

Origin of docile

1
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin docilis “readily taught,” equivalent to doc(ēre) “to teach” + -ilis adjective suffix (see -ile)

Other words for docile

Other words from docile

  • doc·ile·ly, adverb
  • do·cil·i·ty [do-sil-i-tee, doh-], /dɒˈsɪl ɪ ti, doʊ-/, noun

Words Nearby docile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use docile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for docile

docile

/ (ˈdəʊsaɪl) /


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

  2. rare ready to learn; easy to teach

Origin of docile

1
C15: from Latin docilis easily taught, from docēre to teach

Derived forms of docile

  • docilely, adverb
  • docility (dəʊˈsɪlɪtɪ), noun

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