supple
Americanadjective
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bending readily without breaking or becoming deformed; pliant; flexible.
a supple bough.
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characterized by ease in bending; limber; lithe.
supple movements.
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characterized by ease, responsiveness, and adaptability in mental action.
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compliant or yielding.
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obsequious; servile.
verb (used with or without object)
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supples,
present (3rd person singular)
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suppled,
past participle, past
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suppling
present participle
adjective
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bending easily without damage
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capable of or showing easy or graceful movement; lithe
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mentally flexible; responding readily
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disposed to agree, sometimes to the point of servility
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
supplesimple
-
supplessimple
-
have suppledperfect
-
has suppledperfect
-
am supplingprogressive
-
are supplingprogressive
-
is supplingprogressive
-
have been supplingperfect progressive
-
has been supplingperfect progressive
Past
-
suppledsimple
-
had suppledperfect
-
was supplingprogressive
-
were supplingprogressive
-
had been supplingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of supple
1250–1300; (adj.) Middle English souple flexible, compliant < Old French: soft, yielding, lithe < Latin supplic- (stem of supplex ) submissive, suppliant, equivalent to sup- sup- + -plic-, variously explained as akin to plicāre to fold 1, bend (thus meaning “bent over”; cf. complex), or to plācāre to placate 1 (thus meaning “in the attitude of a suppliant”); (v.) Middle English supplen to soften, derivative of the noun (compare Old French asoplir )
Explanation
Something or someone that is supple bends and moves easily, like a contortionist at a circus sideshow. If you can wrap your legs around your neck, you most likely have a supple body. Supple is often used as an adjective describing a body — such as a dancer’s; a fabric — such as soft leather; or a sound — such as an accomplished singer’s voice. This makes for a strange supple family, but all of its members can move with ease and flexibility. More idiomatically, supple can also be used to describe a mind. In this sense, it does not mean “easily brainwashed,” but has a more positive association with the open-mindedness of free-thinkers.
Vocabulary lists containing supple
The Hunger Games
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Romeo and Juliet
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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.
See Examples For:
Dance movies marvelously translate primal emotions into motion, the human body becoming a supple instrument deftly communicating the pain, ecstasy and confusion of being alive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Mr. Kurosawa directs with a supple and straightforward elegance, the camera agile and the proceedings paced as swiftly as Murashige power-walks his way around the castle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Their metallic frames covered in supple, lifelike skin, a posse of new Chinese robots meant for companionship can offer users AI-generated conversation or a hand to hold, complete with manicured nails.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
That was all down to Styles' supple and powerful band.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
At the bottom of the ridge, the grasses rose around her, tall and supple.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
The aviation giant said their suppler informed them the installation of fittings on the rear of the plane did not follow the standard.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2023
Mitchell’s prose is suppler and richer than ever, and his ability to conjure a historical milieu he never actually experienced does not falter.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2020
At the beginning, his caricatures verged on the radical — a block of wood for a head — but soon they eased into the suppler, more fluid and confident style of his mature work.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 5, 2015
Further "sharp practices" included retrospective discounts, where firms seek to apply discounts to outstanding money owed to a suppler, late payment and discounts for paying on time, FSB said.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2014
We rode together to the fair, We danced together on the green; And, faith, they say a suppler pair Was ne’er before a piper seen.
From The Mountainy Singer by Seosamh MacCathmhaoil
“Energy” seems to operate on wires; it’s taut minimalism, with the supplest layering of sub-bass tones.
From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2022
It was through dramatic poetry that Plummer discovered his voice, which he developed into one of the supplest instruments of the modern stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2021
Jessica Lange, one of the supplest film actresses of her generation, is the heavy favorite to win her first Tony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2016
It’s a counterintuitive fact that a player with the supplest shot in the NBA, whose overarching quality is feel, has the hands and work habits of a woodchopper.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2016
Rajesh had once been the most promising of the brothers—the nimblest, the supplest, the most charismatic, the most energetic, the most beloved and idolized by my father and his family.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
They make razors and hair products and have donated a ton of supples to Astor Place Hair, so we’re discussing ways to partner on video profiles.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2021
I propose to rub old man Jacob into Billy by way of liniment until he supples, yes, and works.
From A Man in the Open by Roger Pocock
"He supples all and discommends none, except where his commendations might crosse the company, and then he holds his peace,"—after the words "what is civil."
From Microcosmography or, a Piece of the World Discovered; in Essays and Characters by John Earle
Backing correctly supples the horse, and adds grace and precision to his natural motions.
From New Method of Horsemanship Including the Breaking and Training of Horses, with Instructions for Obtaining a Good Seat. by F. Baucher
In such boyish dreaming the soul learns to do and dare, hardens and supples itself, and puts on youthful beauty; for here is its palaestra.
From Heart of Man by George Edward Woodberry
The human neurons continued to mature as the mouse brain suppled them with blood vessels.
From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2022
Responders weighed the risks versus benefits and decided to give the VSV-ZEBOV vaccine, which is suppled by Merck and stockpiled by the WHO, to children as young as 1 year old.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 13, 2018
Middlesbrough players congratulate Stuani who suppled the cross and turned in for an own goal by Bellusci.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 27, 2015
Their steps and motions were all distinct, clear, and neat; proceeding from a strength so suppled, as to give their joints all the requisite flexibility and obedience to command.
From A Treatise on the Art of Dancing by Giovanni-Andrea Gallini
"I give way," was the characteristic of his attitude to Crashaw, and the rector suppled his back again, remembered the Derby office-boy's tendency to brag, and made the amende honorable.
From The Wonder by J. D. (John Davys) Beresford
Dalén invented a neat little device that would, when heated by the sun, pinch off the gas suppling a lighthouse’s beacon.
From Slate ● Dec. 27, 2016
There are vehicles of every size and description booming down the roadway, in and out of the city, like giant human arteries suppling NYC with energy and nutrients.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2016
The displacement and suppling of each part separately, being obtained, the chest and seat will be temporarily displaced, in order to teach the rider to recover his proper position without assistance.
From New Method of Horsemanship Including the Breaking and Training of Horses, with Instructions for Obtaining a Good Seat. by F. Baucher
A. By the methodical and separate suppling of the jaw, the neck, the haunches, and the loins.
From New Method of Horsemanship Including the Breaking and Training of Horses, with Instructions for Obtaining a Good Seat. by F. Baucher
I was still very sore from the bonds and the jog of that accursed horse, but exercise was rapidly suppling my joints.
From Prester John by John Buchan
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