adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonpliable adjective
- nonpliably adverb
- pliability noun
- pliableness noun
- pliably adverb
- unpliable adjective
- unpliably adverb
Etymology
Origin of pliable
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from French, equivalent to pli(er) “to fold, bend” ( ply 2 ) + -able -able
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.
This paradox raised a fundamental question: how can the planet's solid center appear firm yet strangely pliable?
From Science Daily
If you can square those actions with Hernández’s pardon and not throw your back out in the process you’re either more pliable than most or willfully obtuse.
From Los Angeles Times
Eventually, it becomes pliable enough to pick off ground balls.
Canned crescent dough, improbably, was just right: pliable without tearing, sturdy without getting tough, and still capable of a respectable rise.
From Salon
A standard burger took ten seconds; the Snack Wrap required nearly a minute, with a 20-second steam step just to make the tortilla pliable.
From Salon
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.
