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pliant

[ plahy-uhnt ]
/ ˈplaɪ ənt /
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See synonyms for: pliant / pliancy / pliantness on Thesaurus.com
adjective
bending readily; flexible; supple; adaptable: She manipulated the pliant clay.
easily influenced; yielding to others; compliant: He has a pliant nature.
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Origin of pliant

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French, present participle of the verbplier ply2; see -ant

synonym study for pliant

1, 2. See flexible.

OTHER WORDS FROM pliant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to pliant

compliant, docile, pliable, malleable, supple, obedient, tractable, yielding, adaptable, elastic, flexible, limber, plastic, amenable, ductile, fictile, governable, lissome, manageable, soft

How to use pliant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pliant

pliant
/ (ˈplaɪənt) /
adjective
easily bent; supplea pliant young tree
easily modified; adaptable; flexiblea pliant system
yielding readily to influence; compliant

Derived forms of pliant

pliancy or pliantness, nounpliantly, adverb

Word Origin for pliant

C14: from Old French, from plier to fold, bend; see ply ²
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
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