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pliantness

 - 3 dictionary results

pli⋅ant

  [plahy-uhnt]
Use pliantness 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.
Cite This Source Link To pliantness
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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Word Origin & History

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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