supple

[ suhp-uhl ]
See synonyms for: supplesuppleness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,sup·pler, sup·plest.
  1. bending readily without breaking or becoming deformed; pliant; flexible: a supple bough.

  2. characterized by ease in bending; limber; lithe: supple movements.

  1. characterized by ease, responsiveness, and adaptability in mental action.

  2. compliant or yielding.

  3. obsequious; servile.

verb (used with or without object),sup·pled, sup·pling.
  1. to make or become supple.

Origin of supple

1
1250–1300; (adj.) Middle English souple flexible, compliant <Old French: soft, yielding, lithe <Latin supplic- (stem of supplex) submissive, suppliant, equivalent to sup-sup- + -plic-, variously explained as akin to plicāre to fold1, bend (thus meaning “bent over”; cf. complex), or to plācāre to placate1 (thus meaning “in the attitude of a suppliant”); (v.) Middle English supplen to soften, derivative of the noun (compare Old French asoplir)

Other words from supple

  • sup·ple·ness, noun
  • un·sup·ple, adjective
  • un·sup·ple·ness, noun
  • un·sup·p·ly, adverb

Words Nearby supple

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use supple in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for supple

supple

/ (ˈsʌpəl) /


adjective
  1. bending easily without damage

  2. capable of or showing easy or graceful movement; lithe

  1. mentally flexible; responding readily

  2. disposed to agree, sometimes to the point of servility

verb
  1. rare to make or become supple

Origin of supple

1
C13: from Old French souple, from Latin supplex bowed

Derived forms of supple

  • suppleness, noun

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