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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Grade 10, List 1
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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.
At other times, Jeremy is sweet and docile, playing the big brother role with no difficulty.
From Salon ● May 25, 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
After their snake handler’s docile specimen has an onset mishap, the real thing slithers into view.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
“And boy, if my memory serves, those droids were there just to serve humanity; so docile, nothing frightening about them.”
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2025
I learned to groom them back, and it made them so docile, it seemed like the thing they loved most in the world.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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.
