pliant
[plahy-uh nt]
- 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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for pliant on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pliant
Contemporary Examples
The ad reminds readers that there is no income tax in Texas, that the state has budget surpluses and “pliant labor laws.”
Bank bosses who refused were simply replaced with pliant sycophants.
He called that pliant decision the biggest mistake of his presidency.
Historical Examples
So slight, yet so round, so trim, yet so pliant—she was grace itself.
Wilfrid CumbermedeGeorge MacDonald
The pileus is thin, pliant when fresh but somewhat brittle when dry.
The Mushroom, Edible and OtherwiseM. E. Hard
Unhappily I am not a Greek woman, pliant to the whims of artists and voluptuaries.
King CandaulesThophile Gautier
Bend to the earth our pliant knees, And speak—but as our masters please?
The Liberty MinstrelGeorge W. Clark
The atmosphere that surrounds us is so often treacherous to our pliant natures!
The Choice of LifeGeorgette Leblanc
pliant
- easily bent; supplea pliant young tree
- easily modified; adaptable; flexiblea pliant system
- yielding readily to influence; compliant
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for pliant
adj.
late 14c., from Old French ploiant "bending, supple; compliant, fickle," as a noun, "turncoat" (13c.), present participle of ploier "to bend" (see ply (n.)). Figurative sense of "easily influenced" is from c.1400. Related: Pliancy.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper