adjective
-
easily bent; supple
a pliant young tree
-
easily modified; adaptable; flexible
a pliant system
-
yielding readily to influence; compliant
Related Words
See flexible.
Other Word Forms
- nonpliancy noun
- nonpliant adjective
- nonpliantly adverb
- nonpliantness noun
- pliancy noun
- pliantly adverb
- pliantness noun
- unpliancy noun
- unpliant adjective
- unpliantly adverb
- unpliantness noun
Etymology
Origin of pliant
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French, present participle of the verb plier ply 2; see -ant
Explanation
The adjective pliant describes something that is capable of being bent. "The teenager showed off her pliant spine every time she draped herself over a piece of furniture. Why hanging upside down off the sofa didn't give her a headache, her mother would never know." Pliant has both a literal and a figurative meaning. Pliant can describe something that is bendable — like a spine, a tree branch, a bendy straw — or it can describe something that is flexible, but less tangible. In this latter sense, pliant describes something that adjusts to conditions or is easily influenced: "In order to survive the recession, the company had to be pliant and adjust to the new economic conditions."
Vocabulary lists containing pliant
Mythology
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"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 2 of the epic poem
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Bless Me, Ultima
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As originally conceived, Mossadegh was to be quietly arrested and replaced by a pliant new prime minister, Gen. Fazlollah Zahedi.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
He is a pliant enough actor to daub each portrait with just enough psychological color.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2026
His death—of natural causes—brought to an end a 36-year period in which a prone and pliant Spain submitted to his authoritarian rule.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
Those familiar with Crosstrek over the years should be equally surprised by the hush and pliant ride of today’s model.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 26, 2025
I could resist St. John’s wrath: I grew pliant as a reed under his kindness.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
