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Pliable: Definition, Usage & Common Mistakes (3 meaning)
Meaning 1：easily influenced (pliable)
pliable
/ˈplaɪəb(ə)l/
adj.
Describes someone who can be easily persuaded or changed in their opinions.
easily influenced
➕
/ˈiːzəli ˈɪnfluənst/
adj.
Refers to a person who readily accepts guidance or changes their mind, often due to inexperience or a receptive nature.
📘 Details & Usage
📖 Root Explanation
From Latin 'plicare' (to fold) + '-able', meaning 'able to be folded or bent'.
💡 Mnemonic
PLIABLE sounds like 'ply-able'. Think of plywood's layers or being able to ply (bend) something easily.
📖 Example
As a young graduate, he was quite pliable when it came to career advice and often changed his major based on his professors' suggestions.
As a young graduate, he was quite easily influenced regarding career advice and often changed his major based on his professors' suggestions.
🔗 Collocations
pliable nature – A character that is easily shaped or influenced.
pliable personality – A person's disposition that is adaptable and receptive.
make someone pliable – To cause someone to become more compliant or persuadable.
🔄 Synonyms
malleable (adj.) – Can be easily influenced or shaped; often used for personalities.
impressionable (adj.) – Easily influenced, especially because of youth.
tractable (adj.) – Easily managed, controlled, or taught.
🚫 Antonyms
obstinate (adj.) – Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or chosen course of action.
inflexible (adj.) – Unwilling to change or adapt.
headstrong (adj.) – Self-willed and determined to have one's own way.
🌱 Derivatives
pliability (n.) – The quality of being easily bent, influenced, or shaped.
📖 Cultural Story
Evolved from Latin 'plicare' via Old French 'ploier'. In English since the 14th century, initially describing physical flexibility. Its metaphorical use for easily influenced people emerged later, reflecting the adaptability of the concept.
Meaning 2：bendable (pliable)
pliable
/ˈplaɪəb(ə)l/
adj.
Describes an object or material that can bend or twist easily without breaking.
bendable
➕
/ˈbendəb(ə)l/
adj.
Describes a physical object or substance that is flexible enough to be shaped, bent, or twisted without snapping.
📘 Details & Usage
📖 Example
The new pliable garden hose is much easier to store and move around than the old stiff one.
The new bendable garden hose is much easier to store and move around than the old stiff one.
🔗 Collocations
pliable material – A substance that can be easily bent or shaped.
pliable plastic – A type of plastic that is soft and flexible.
become pliable – To become soft and flexible, often through warming or conditioning.
🔄 Synonyms
Meaning 3：easily bent (pliable)
pliable
/ˈplaɪəb(ə)l/
adj.
Simply means something is easy to bend with your hands.
easily bent
➕
/ˈiːzəli bent/
adj.
Emphasizes the ease with which something can be bent or manipulated by hand, often in a crafting or artistic context.
📘 Details & Usage
📖 Example
Artists often use pliable wire to create the basic skeleton for their sculptures before adding clay.
Artists often use easily bent wire to create the basic skeleton for their sculptures before adding clay.
🔗 Collocations
pliable wire – Wire that can be bent and shaped by hand with little effort.
pliable clay – Clay that is soft and ready to be shaped.
warm until pliable – To heat something until it becomes soft enough to bend.
🔄 Synonyms
🚫 Antonyms
unbending (adj.) – Not yielding; inflexible.
unyielding (adj.) – Not giving way to pressure; hard or solid.
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