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Pliant vs Flexible - What's the difference?

pliant | flexible |

Flexible is a synonym of pliant.



As adjectives the difference between pliant and flexible

is that pliant is capable of plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking; flexible; pliable; lithe; limber; plastic; as, a pliant thread; pliant wax while flexible is capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; not stiff or brittle.

As a noun flexible is

something that is flexible.

pliant

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Capable of plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking; flexible; pliable; lithe; limber; plastic; as, a pliant thread; pliant wax.
  • (figuratively) Easily influenced for good or evil; tractable; as, a pliant heart.
  • * 2013 , A. J. Langguth, Patriots
    • "[The king] had a pliant prime minister and a general who was telling him what he wanted to hear."

    Related terms

    * pliantly

    Derived terms

    * pliantness

    Anagrams

    * ----

    flexible

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; not stiff or brittle.
    • When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks. -
  • Willing or ready to yield to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate; tractable; manageable; ductile; easy and compliant; wavering.
    • Phocion was a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people. - .
    Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible . -
  • Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic,; as, a flexible language.
    • This was a principle more flexible to their purpose. -Rogers.

    Synonyms

    * bendsome * ductile * inconstant * manageable * obsequious * pliant * pliable * supple * tractable * wavering

    Derived terms

    * flexibly * flexibleness

    Related terms

    * flexibility * inflexible

    See also

    * foldable

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (chiefly, engineering, and, manufacturing) Something that is flexible.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2009, date=August 19, author=Terry McCrann, title=Win-win deal for the times, work=Herald Sun citation
    • , passage=Alcan is mostly flexibles -- and so it boosts Amcor's flexible packaging business to a globally significant $7 billion one. }}

    References

    * * (flexible) * (flexibility) ----