ductile

American  

[duhk-tl, -til] / ˈdʌk tl, -tɪl /

adjective

1. capable of being hammered out thin, as certain metals; malleable.

2. capable of being drawn out into wire or threads, as gold.

3. able to undergo change of form without breaking.

4. capable of being molded or shaped; plastic.

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ductile British  

/ dʌkˈtɪlɪtɪ, ˈdʌktaɪl /

adjective

1. (of a metal, such as gold or copper) able to be drawn out into wire

2. able to be moulded; pliant; plastic

3. easily led or influenced; tractable

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ductile Scientific  

/ dŭk′təl /

1. Easily stretched without breaking or lowering in material strength. Gold is relatively ductile at room temperature, and most metals become more ductile with increasing temperature.

2. Compare brittle malleable

3. Relating to rock or other materials that are capable of withstanding a certain amount of force by changing form before fracturing or breaking.

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Other Word Forms

• ductilely adverb
• ductileness noun
• ductility noun
• nonductile adjective
• semiductile adjective
• unductile adjective

Etymology

Origin of ductile

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin ductilis, equivalent to duct(us) (past participle of dūcere “to draw along”) + -ilis adjective suffix ( -ile )

Explanation

If you can bend or shape a substance, especially if it's made of metal, it is ductile. If they can stretch a metal into a thin wire, scientists consider it to be ductile. If you agree with what everyone else does or says, you too might be ductile, or easily manipulated. Some more commonly used synonyms for ductile are malleable, for both senses of the word, and pliable or flexible, for the literal sense. The word shares the same root as the word duke. If you are a duke, you probably hope your people are ductile, or easy to lead.

Example Sentences

For years, scientists questioned whether the mantle, which is hotter and more ductile than the crust, could generate significant earthquakes at all.

From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2026

He said Dow is looking to “move to more ductile, durable products that even when subjected to extreme stressors, if it does break up, it doesn’t break up into small particles.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

"Due to copper’s highly conductive and ductile nature, it is an ideal candidate for transformation and transmission of electrical energy in EVs," the bank said in a note dated Wednesday.

From Reuters • Jul. 6, 2023

As Senta, the woman who returns the apparitional captain’s obsessive attention, Elza van den Heever sang with a ductile soprano.

From New York Times • May 31, 2023

Ruggedness and tenderness, corruption and sweetness, whimsicality and decision, are magically mingled there in dignified depth, with the most refined feeling—the most ductile language of the brush that is known to me.

From The Standard Galleries - Holland by Singleton, Esther