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Glite Dictionary
🔧 Able to shape 🔤 Able to change form
formable

formable

4.4
Can be shaped or molded into a new form
  • adjective
  • /ˈfɔrməbl/
translation icon : moldable
  • During the workshop, we learned how to work with formable clay to make pottery.

Examples

  • Now the thing about styrene, the reason it's fabulous vacuum formable plastic is it gets nice and soft and it is very pliable.

  • Every piece of formable land is being bought up.

  • Thermoplastic forming was first demonstrated on metallic glasses in 1978, but the recent discovery of highly formable BMGs has accelerated its development.

    Academic text (2012)

  • These models will greatly aid efforts to render lightweight magnesium alloys "formable" and "crushable," so that society can exploit their performance and efficiency benefits in safety-critical applications.

    Blog text (2)

  • The artist preferred using formable materials to create intricate sculptures.

  • Kids enjoy playing with formable dough, shaping it into various animals and figures.

Synonyms

plastic
vsformable
38 3.6

Easy to shape when soft, for example clay

is the general ability without implying it is always easy to alter
pliable
vsformable
8 4.2

Easy to bend or shape

emphasizes creating a particular outline rather than general adaptability
pliant
vsformable
3 5.6

Easily bent or shaped without breaking

is about being made into a definite outline rather than just bending
moldable
vsformable
  • US
1 4.1

You can shape materials like clay when they are soft

is broader not limited to needing softness or pressing to alter outline
deformable
vsformable
  • Specialized
1 5.3

Able to be bent or shaped without breaking

focuses on being made into a chosen outline rather than merely changing under stress
shapeable
vsformable
3.7

A material that you can make into different shapes

has identical meaning but differs only by word choice

How Formable

malleable
  • Specialized
3 6.0
pliable
8 4.2
formable
4.4
stiff
127 1.7
rigid
35 4.0

Surface Forms

formable positive

Morphology

formable = form (transparent) = form + able

Standard adjectival derivation from the verb 'form' with '-able'; meaning 'able to be formed' is directly inferable.

Etymology

Formable comes from the Latin root forma meaning 'shape' and the ending -able meaning 'can be'. Think of soft metal or clay you 'can make into a shape' — that's why formable means 'able to be shaped'.