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supple

[ suhp-uhl ]
/ ˈsʌp əl /
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See synonyms for: supple / suppleness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, sup·pler, sup·plest.
bending readily without breaking or becoming deformed; pliant; flexible: a supple bough.
characterized by ease in bending; limber; lithe: supple movements.
characterized by ease, responsiveness, and adaptability in mental action.
compliant or yielding.
obsequious; servile.
verb (used with or without object), sup·pled, sup·pling.
to make or become supple.
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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 fold1, bend (thus meaning “bent over”; cf. complex), or to plācāre to placate1 (thus meaning “in the attitude of a suppliant”); (v.) Middle English supplen to soften, derivative of the noun (compare Old French asoplir)

OTHER WORDS FROM supple

sup·ple·ness, nounun·sup·ple, adjectiveun·sup·ple·ness, nounun·sup·p·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use supple in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for supple

supple
/ (ˈsʌpəl) /

adjective
bending easily without damage
capable of or showing easy or graceful movement; lithe
mentally flexible; responding readily
disposed to agree, sometimes to the point of servility
verb
rare to make or become supple

Derived forms of supple

suppleness, noun

Word Origin for supple

C13: from Old French souple, from Latin supplex bowed
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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