Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Easily bent or flexed; pliable. synonym: malleable.
- adjective Easily altered or modified to fit conditions; adaptable.
- adjective Yielding readily to influence or domination; compliant.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Capable of being easily bent; flexible; supple; limber; lithe: as, a pliant twig.
- Easily bent or inclined to any particular course; readily influenced for good or evil; easy to be persuaded; yielding.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Capable of plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking; flexible; pliable; lithe; limber; plastic. Also used figuratively: Easily influenced for good or evil; tractable.
- adjective rare Favorable to pliancy.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Capable of
plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking;flexible ;pliable ;lithe ;limber ;plastic ; as, a pliant thread; pliant wax. - adjective figuratively Easily influenced for good or evil;
tractable ; as, a pliant heart.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective able to adjust readily to different conditions
- adjective capable of being bent or flexed or twisted without breaking
- adjective capable of being influenced or formed
- adjective capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Mann congratulated himself on having articulated the notion of pliant time in an early draft of his great novel, even before Einstein expanded the theory in 1916.
Novels of Time and Memory Edmund Morris 2010
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Its road show, he says, was pitched to believers, and the media in China is largely pliant, meaning the company has rarely faced tough questions.
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We do not know what the word here translated "pliant" [Greek: streptos] means, and
Homer and His Age Andrew Lang 1878
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He got the name of a "pliant" doctor and now has a medical card.
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Combined with what the late Ernest Mandel called "extra-economic" factors (such as pliant labor leadership and peaceful trade unionism, establishment of the Bretton Woods international monetary system, Cold War ideology and the suppression or pacification of any possible dissent, and relative decline in the price of oil and other raw materials in the immediate post-WW II period), the New Deal and other government-sponsored reforms ushered in a period of rapid economic expansion that came to be known as the "golden years of US capitalism," which lasted until around 1970.
CounterPunch 2010
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It's the duo's astute absorption of the '80s' pliant synth-pop and its attendants electro, boogie, R & B, as well as an ability to keep the reverence fun, that carries them well beyond the joke.
Melting With Winter's Melodies Andy Beta 2011
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Cairo is a linchpin of the so-called moderate Arab axis allied with Washington against the region's less-pliant regimes, including Iran and its proxies.
An Abrupt End to a Powerful Reign Charles Levinson 2011
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Sadly, over a century later, the blood-soaked gains made by America's labor movement are being relentlessly eroded by stealthy corporations and pliant politicians.
Mark Cassello: Labor and Capital in the 21st Century: Legacy of the Haymarket Affair Mark Cassello 2011
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The rhythms of organist/guitarist Sean Antanaitis and drummer David Bergander are more pliant the third time around, giving plenty of room for frontwoman Katrina Ford to soar, coo and growl with equal aplomb.
Going Gaga for Beats and Tunes Andy Beta 2011
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Jay Hunter Morris, who took over the punishing title role just a week before the premiere, has a bright, pliant tenor—not large, but ringing and energetic.
Of Gods And Monsters Heidi Waleson 2011
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