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pliancy

pliancy

1 6.7
A quality of changing easily in mind or body
  • noun
  • /ˈplaɪənsi/
translation icon : flexibilidad
  • Her pliancy in dealing with unexpected changes at work made her an invaluable team member.

Examples

  • "You want to, all right." He smiled faintly, aware of her new pliancy in his arms.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Thirteen years after the Court's description, in Lemon, of the pliancy of the wall of separation, the United States Supreme Court was confronted with an issue of whether a city's inclusion of a nativity scene in its Christmas-time display was constitutional.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Not only must educators adapt to their students, but students must have the pliancy to adapt to their teachers.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Yet this could also be read as an assertion of the pliancy of human nature and the imperative of solidarity under whatever strain.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Unfortunately, her mother had always been a tougher customer, and even her father was unscrupulously willing to abandon his proper pliancy when he decided the situation justified it.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • (Jordan's present King Abdullah was shipped over to be educated in pliancy at my own stuffy Deerfield, Massachusetts, prep school.

    Academic text (2012)
  • He doesn't expect or want that women will naturally act like porn stars in bed; he expects that he will be able to turn them into porn stars in bed, with his massive dong packing her into a creaming pliancy.

    Blog text (17)
  • The less insistent rhythm allowed a keener awareness of the exquisite textures of skin, the marvelous flexibility of muscle, the firmness of bone, the pliancy of lips, and the syncopated beating of their hearts.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • A good dancer must possess a remarkable pliancy in their movements to perform effortlessly.

  • The gymnast demonstrated incredible pliancy as she twisted and bent her body during the routine.

Synonyms

flexibility
vspliancy
153 3.6

Ability to change plans or actions easily to fit new situations

is more about inherent capacity to change than personal willingness
adaptability
vspliancy
11 3.9

Being able to change and work well in new situations

is more about a general flexible quality across life domains
fluidity
vspliancy
8 5.0

How easily someone or something changes to fit new situations

is more about stable readiness to change rather than continuous movement
plasticity
vspliancy
  • Specialized
4 6.3

The ability to change or adapt easily in new situations

is broader, covering simple adaptability beyond environment-driven change
mutability
vspliancy
1 8.4

Being able to change often or easily

is specifically about ease of adjustment rather than mere capability
adjustability
vspliancy
1 3.8

How easy it is to change something to fit different needs

is an inherent pliant quality rather than a designed change feature
pliability
vspliancy
1 6.1

Able to change opinions or plans easily

is broader covering physical, mental, and general adaptability
suppleness
vspliancy
1 4.7

Being able to change ideas or plans easily

is broader applying equally to both physical and mental change
adaptiveness
vspliancy
1 4.6

Ability to change easily to new situations

is the general trait rather than the active process of adjusting
pliantness
vspliancy
7.7

Ability to bend or change easily

is the same meaning expressed in the other common form
flexibleness
vspliancy
3.9

The ability to change to fit new situations

is the more concise alternative for the same adaptable quality
adaptivity
vspliancy
6.5

The ability to change to fit new situations

is more focused on personal or bodily flexibility rather than system change
changeableness
vspliancy
7.6

A quality of becoming different often and without warning

is about being easily adaptable rather than being unstable or unpredictable

Antonyms

rigidity
  • Specialized
3 6.0

Not able to bend or change shape easily

The inability to change or fit into new situations

How Flexible

malleability
  • Specialized
2 7.4
plasticity
  • Specialized
4 6.3
flexibility
37 3.0
pliancy
1 6.7
rigidity
  • Specialized
3 6.0

Surface Forms

pliancy singular
pliancies plural

Morphology

pliancy = pliant (transparent) = pliant + cy

The noun is a regular, predictable formation from the adjective 'pliant' by adding the noun-forming suffix '-cy', so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

The word pliancy comes from the old Latin root plicare, meaning 'to fold' or 'bend', the same idea as the simple word 'fold'. So, pliancy is the ability to bend or change easily, whether in the body or in a person's mind.