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malleable

 - 4 dictionary results

mal⋅le⋅a⋅ble

  [mal-ee-uh-buhl]
Use malleable in a Sentence
–adjective
1. capable of being extended or shaped by hammering or by pressure from rollers.
2. adaptable or tractable: the malleable mind of a child.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME malliable < ML malleābilis, equiv. to malle(āre) to hammer (deriv. of L malleus hammer) + -ābilis -able

Related forms:
mal⋅le⋅a⋅bly, adverb
mal⋅le⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, mal⋅le⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. impressionable, moldable, flexible, pliable.

Antonyms:
2. refractory, intractable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To malleable
mal·le·a·ble   (māl'ē-ə-bəl)   
adj.  

  1. Capable of being shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure: a malleable metal.

  2. Easily controlled or influenced; tractable.

  3. Able to adjust to changing circumstances; adaptable: the malleable mind of the pragmatist.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin malleābilis, from malleāre, to hammer, from Latin malleus, hammer; see melə- in Indo-European roots.]
mal'le·a·bil'i·ty, mal'le·a·ble·ness n., mal'le·a·bly adv.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean capable of being shaped, bent, or drawn out: malleable metals such as gold and silver; ductile copper; a plastic substance such as wax; soaked the leather to make it pliable; pliant molten glass.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

malleable 
c.1386, from M.L. malleabilis, from malleare "to beat with a hammer," from L. malleus "hammer" (see mallet). Figurative sense, of persons, "capable of being adapted" first recorded 1612.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

malleable mal·le·a·ble (māl'ē-ə-bəl)
adj.

  1. Capable of being shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure.

  2. Easily controlled or influenced; tractable.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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