flexible

[ flek-suh-buhl ]
/ ˈflɛk sə bəl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR flexible ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

capable of being bent, usually without breaking; easily bent: a flexible ruler.
susceptible of modification or adaptation; adaptable: a flexible schedule.
willing or disposed to yield; pliable: a flexible personality.

noun

a flexible substance or material, as rubber or leather.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of flexible

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin flexibilis pliant, easily bent. See flex1, -ible

SYNONYMS FOR flexible

1 pliable, elastic, supple. Flexible, limber, pliant refer to that which bends easily. Flexible refers to that which is capable of being bent and adds sometimes the idea of compressibility or expansibility: a flexible piece of rubber hose. Limber is especially applied to the body to refer to ease of movement; it resembles flexible except that there is an idea of even greater ease in bending: a limber dancer. Pliant stresses an inherent quality or tendency to bend that does not require force or pressure from the outside; it may mean merely adaptable or may have a derogatory sense: a pliant character.
2 tractable, compliant.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR flexible ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM flexible

Words nearby flexible

flexcash, flexdollars, flexecutive, flexed, flexibilitas cerea, flexible, flexible spending account, flexible-rate mortgage, flexicurity, flexile, flexion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to flexible

soft, malleable, flexile, adjustable, bending, ductile, elastic, formative, impressionable, limber, lithe, plastic, pliant, spongy, springy, stretch, supple, tractable, willowy, yielding

Example sentences from the Web for flexible

British Dictionary definitions for flexible

flexible
/ (ˈflɛksɪbəl) /

adjective

Also: flexile (ˈflɛksaɪl) able to be bent easily without breaking; pliable
adaptable or variableflexible working hours
able to be persuaded easily; tractable

Derived forms of flexible

flexibility or flexibleness, nounflexibly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for flexible

flexible
[ flĕk′sə-bəl ]

adj.

Capable of being bent or flexed.
Capable of being bent repeatedly without injury or damage.

Other words from flexible

flex′i•bil′i•ty null n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.