pliant

[plahy-uhnt]

adjective

1. bending readily; flexible; supple; adaptable.

   She manipulated the pliant clay.

   Synonyms: flexile, pliable

2. easily influenced; yielding to others; compliant.

   He has a pliant nature.

   Synonyms: docile, tractable, manageable, flexile, pliable

pliant

/ ˈplaɪənt /

adjective

1. easily bent; supple

   a pliant young tree

2. easily modified; adaptable; flexible

   a pliant system

3. yielding readily to influence; compliant

Other Word Forms

• pliancy noun
• pliantness noun
• pliantly adverb
• nonpliancy noun
• nonpliant adjective
• nonpliantly adverb
• nonpliantness noun
• unpliancy noun
• unpliant adjective
• unpliantly adverb
• unpliantness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pliant¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French, present participle of the verb plier ply ²; -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of pliant¹

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

Synonym Study

See flexible.

Example Sentences

It’s pliant but still has a little chew, and it behaves beautifully whether you cook it on the stove or leave it to swell overnight in milk.

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Surely a pliant Congress couldn’t simply hand over core powers—like the power to declare war—to the executive, he said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In the face of a passive Republican Congress and a pliant Supreme Court, such a turn of events could prove disastrous.

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His pliant nature makes him a bullying magnet, including by Rain’s friends.

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"As the music began, my hand set the brush aside and I dipped my finger into the soft, pliant paint," she said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• compliant 
• docile 
• pliable