pliant
1
6.5
- adjective
- /ˈplaɪənt/
:
adaptable
- In the process, they fall further and further behind their more pliant peers.
- more pliant
Jack Dorsey was totally pliant to these.
- Jack Dorsey was totally pliant to these.
Examples
-
Moreover, many of these African writers believe, correctly, that those languages are pliant and can be made to carry alternative cultural ontologies.
Academic text (2018) -
Uncomplaining, pliant time had gone by, but in those moments there was no pain.
-
So, you know, what America got for its intervention was not some, you know, pliant, perfect ally at all.
-
Why so soft, so pliant and yielding?
Blog text (6) -
Other statements reached the opposite conclusion that as the United States became weaker, it would become more reasonable and pliant.
Academic text (1990) -
The children, tender and pliant, are what is important, he tells me, not old people like him, who have become dry and rigid and whose lives are behind them.
Fiction book (2000) -
He wants a government that will be pliant to his personal agenda, irrespective of law or constitution.
-
Pliant and prone to compromise from its inception, this association never included the destruction of the colonial state as part of its project.
Academic text (2006) -
Indeed, one of the more unpleasant, if convenient, uses to which the UN has regularly been put has been to serve as a pliant scapegoat for the failures of its member states.
Academic text (2003) -
The girl was so pliant that she easily accepted the suggestions of her friends.
Synonyms
155
3.4
Able to change or be changed to fit different situations
23
3.4
Able to change to fit new situations
12
6.0
Easily influenced by others and likely to change opinions
8
5.5
Easily changed or influenced, like a child's mind
3
5.4
Easily accepts other people's ideas
3
4.4
Able to change and adapt easily to new ideas or situations
Antonyms
How Flexible
Surface Forms
Morphology
pliant = ply (semi-transparent) = pli + ant
Derived from a verb root meaning 'bend' with the adjectival suffix '-ant'; the metaphorical sense 'easily influenced/adaptable' is related but not fully predictable for learners.
Etymology
Pliant comes from the Latin root plicare meaning 'to fold' and is related to the common word comply. A helpful image is a person who 'folds' to fit a new idea or group, which is why pliant means easily adaptable or willing to change.