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biddable

biddable

1 7.9
Willing to do what others tell them and easy to control
  • adjective
  • /ˈbɪdəbl/
translation icon : obediente
  • Her biddable nature made her a favorite among the teachers at school.

Examples

  • There will be complex gray areas, but engagement, including contact between mezzanine rulers and Western representatives, will be the only way to differentiate the politically biddable from the irreconcilably die-hard.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Oh, how everything calms down once you're outside in blue skies turning the children into biddable lemurs.

  • If she's good and biddable, she'll settle down.

  • But most of all... it was that plain-faced, biddable wife whose sweetly given reply to any problem would be: Whatever you think is best, dear.

  • I've always thought that biddable gun dogs and working collies had some relationship, and for this, I've been laughed at.

    Blog text (27)
  • Freed now from all the guilt and confusion attending his vision of Lady Laura's passing, Peregrine let the words of the fourth-century bishop speak for him as well, now also free to let his newly biddable vision quest out as it would.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Therein lies the case Romney is trying to make to those who voted for Obama last time but are now biddable: he is not an ideologue but a technocrat who will break the partisan deadlock and get something done.

    Blog text (6)
  • The dog was very biddable, following every command without hesitation.

  • He was a biddable child, always eager to obey his parents' instructions.

Synonyms

persuadable
vsbiddable
3 4.6

Open to change your mind when others give reasons

is more about obeying instructions than changing opinion from argument
pliable
vsbiddable
3 5.4

Easily accepts other people's ideas

is more about ready obedience to direct orders than being shaped
acquiescent
vsbiddable
1 8.4

Willing to accept rules or decisions without protest

is more about acting on direct instructions rather than quiet acceptance
swayable
vsbiddable
7.0

Easily persuaded to change their mind

is about following orders and actions rather than changing beliefs

Antonyms

217 2.9

Not willing to change your mind even when others try to persuade you

22 4.5

Not willing to help or work with others

How Willing

obedient
45 1.0
compliant
31 5.1
biddable
1 7.9
reluctant
247 3.5
stubborn
217 2.9

Surface Forms

biddable positive

Morphology

biddable = bid (semi-transparent) = bid + able

Formed regularly from 'bid' + '-able', but understanding depends on knowing 'bid' in the 'command/order' sense, which is less frequent and may not be familiar to all learners.

Etymology

Biddable comes from the old verb bid meaning 'to tell or order', and the ending -able meaning 'can be'. So biddable is 'can be told' or ready to follow orders, which is why it describes someone willing to do what they are told.