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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Flexibility: Definition, Usage & Key Examples (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：ability to adapt (flexibility)

flexibility 🔊

/ˌflek.səˈbɪl.ə.ti/

The ability to change your plans or behaviour easily when the situation changes.

Flexibility concept: person calmly adapting work plans on laptop and paper planner.

ability to adapt 🔊

➕

/əˈbɪl.ə.ti tuː əˈdæpt/

The capacity to readily adjust one's plans, methods, or behavior in response to new circumstances or unexpected changes.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'flexibilis' (able to be bent), from 'flectere' (to bend) + '-bilis' (able to).

💡 Mnemonic

Flex Your Mind. Just as a muscle flexes and bends, a flexible person adapts their thinking to new situations.

📖 Example

Her flexibility in handling the last-minute change of the meeting venue impressed the entire team. 🔊 Her ability to adapt in handling the last-minute change of the meeting venue impressed the entire team.

🔗 Collocations

mental flexibility – the ability to adapt one's thinking to new information

demonstrate flexibility – to show adaptability in action or decision-making

demand for flexibility – a requirement for adaptable approaches, often in work

🔄 Synonyms

adaptability (n.) – The quality of being able to adjust to new conditions.

versatility (n.) – The ability to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities.

pliancy (n.) – The capacity to be easily influenced or adaptable, often regarding attitudes.

🚫 Antonyms

rigidity (n.) – Inability to be changed or adapted; strict adherence to rules.

inflexibility (n.) – The quality of being unwilling or unable to change.

stubbornness (n.) – The trait of being unreasonably or perversely unyielding.

🌱 Derivatives

flexible (adj.) – Able to adapt or be bent easily without breaking.

flexibly (adv.) – In an adaptable or pliable manner.

flex (v.) – To bend or to demonstrate one's adaptability.

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from Latin, it initially described physical bendability. Its modern use for adaptable minds and plans reflects the high value placed on agility in fast-paced business and tech cultures.

Meaning 2：bendability (flexibility)

flexibility 🔊

/ˌflek.səˈbɪl.ə.ti/

The ability of your body or an object to bend or stretch easily without getting hurt or broken.

Physical flexibility: athlete performing a deep stretch on a yoga mat in gym.

bendability 🔊

➕

/ˈbend.əˌbɪl.ə.ti/

The physical property of a body or material that allows it to be bent, stretched, or twisted without suffering damage or injury.

📁 Category：Diet & Health 🔖 Level：Elementary

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

Regular yoga practice significantly improves your flexibility and reduces muscle stiffness. 🔊 Regular yoga practice significantly improves your bendability and reduces muscle stiffness.

🔗 Collocations

joint flexibility – the range of motion possible at a joint

enhance flexibility – to improve the range of motion or pliability

test flexibility – to measure the extent to which something can bend or stretch

🔄 Synonyms

suppleness (n.) – The quality of being soft, pliant, and easily bent, often of the body.

pliability (n.) – The physical quality of being easily bent or flexible.

limberness (n.) – The state of being flexible and agile in body.

🚫 Antonyms

stiffness (n.) – The condition of being rigid or not easily bent.

rigidity (n.) – The physical inability to bend or be forced out of shape.

inflexibility (n.) – The quality of a material or body that cannot be bent.

🌱 Derivatives

flexible (adj.) – Able to adapt or be bent easily without breaking.

flexibly (adv.) – In an adaptable or pliable manner.

flex (v.) – To bend or to demonstrate one's adaptability.