docility
Americannoun
-
the fact or quality of being easily handled, managed, or led; meek and unquestioning obedience or compliance.
Their whole military system rewards docility and conformity and punishes dynamism and adherence to strong convictions.
In contrast to the productive but stubborn Brown Swiss breed, Helvetica cows are known for their docility.
-
willingness to learn or be taught or to accept direction; receptivity or openness.
May this Pentecost create a new docility to the Spirit, within each of us as individuals and within the corporate Body of the Church.
Etymology
Origin of docility
First recorded in 1550–60; docil(e) ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing docility
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.
Every expression is judged through a gaze that demands docility.
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025
But in between docility and pugnacity lies the pathway to effective debate moderation, and I thought Muir and Davis did a fine job walking that road on Tuesday night.
From Slate • Sep. 11, 2024
Breeders also value posture, hoof solidity, docility, maternal ability and beauty.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024
We were selecting dogs for docility and tameness, but these traits were genetically linked to the tail-wagging behavior.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 16, 2024
In this secret music, I could tell those tales I was denied, and, there being no text, none could read whether I spake of docility or insubordination.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
