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Definition of pliant - 4 dictionary results

pli⋅ant

  [plahy-uhnt]
Use pliant in a Sentence
–adjective
1. bending readily; flexible; supple; adaptable: She manipulated the pliant clay.
2. easily influenced; yielding to others; compliant: He has a pliant nature.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < OF, prp. of plier to ply 2 ; see -ant

Related forms:
pli⋅an⋅cy, pli⋅ant⋅ness, noun
pli⋅ant⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1, 2. pliable, flexile. See flexible. 2. manageable, tractable, docile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pli·ant   (plī'ənt)   
adj.  
  1. Easily bent or flexed; pliable. See Synonyms at malleable.
  2. Easily altered or modified to fit conditions; adaptable.
  3. Yielding readily to influence or domination; compliant.

[Middle English, from Old French, present participle of plier, to fold, bend, from Latin plicāre; see plek- in Indo-European roots.]
pli'an·cy, pli'ant·ness n., pli'ant·ly adv.
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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Pliant

Pli"ant\, a. [F. pliant, p. pr. of plier to bend. See Ply, v.]

1. Capable of plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking; flexible; pliable; lithe; limber; plastic; as, a pliant thread; pliant wax. Also used figuratively: Easily influenced for good or evil; tractable; as, a pliant heart.

The will was then ductile and pliant to right reason. --South.

2. Favorable to pliancy. [R.] "A pliant hour." --Shak. -- Pli"ant*ly, adv. -- Pli"ant*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pliant
Spanish: plegable,
German: zusammenklappbar,
Japanese: 折りたたみ式の
More Translations »

pliant 
c.1300, from O.Fr. pliant "bending" (13c.), prp. of plier "to bend" (see ply (n.)). Fig. sense of "easily influenced" is from c.1400. Pliable is first recorded 1483, from O.Fr. pliable "flexible," from plier.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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