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Glite Dictionary
tractile

tractile

9.9
Able to be stretched into thin wire without breaking
  • adjective
  • /ˈtræktaɪl/
  • Specialized
: ductil
  • Copper is a highly tractile metal, ideal for making wires.

Examples

  • Gold is both tractile and malleable, making it useful for intricate jewelry designs.

  • The tractile nature of the plastic allows it to be molded into various shapes.

  • Copper is a very tractile metal.

  • Is gold tractile enough for this application?

  • Copper is a highly tractile metal, ideal for making wires.

  • Gold is both tractile and malleable, making it useful for intricate jewelry designs.

  • The tractile nature of the plastic allows it to be molded into various shapes.

Synonyms

pliable
vstractile
8 4.2

Easy to bend or shape

refers specifically to being stretchable or drawable in physical materials
tensile
vstractile
  • Specialized
7 6.7

Able to be stretched without breaking

focuses on being stretchable and shaped rather than only tension resistance
malleable
vstractile
  • Specialized
5 6.0

A material you can shape and bend without breaking, like gold or clay

places more weight on being drawn out or stretched without breaking
pliant
vstractile
2 5.6

Easily bent or shaped without breaking

emphasizes being drawable or stretchable rather than just bending easily
ductile
vstractile
  • Specialized
1 7.3

Can be stretched into a thin wire without breaking

is about being stretchable and drawable into thin forms without breaking

How Ductile

tractile
  • Specialized
9.9
flexible
46 3.4
rigid
37 4.0
brittle
33 3.9

Surface Forms

tractile positive

Morphology

tractile = tract (opaque) = tract + ile

Although formed from the combining form 'tract' + suffix '-ile', the meaning 'capable of being drawn out' depends on the Latin sense of 'tract' ('draw'), which is not accessible to average learners who know 'tract' only as 'area' or 'pamphlet'.

Etymology

Tractile comes from the root tract, which means 'to pull' and appears in words like tractor and traction. So a tractile material is one you can 'pull' out into thin wire or shape without breaking.