Cambridge Dictionaries online

The most popular online dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English


pliant adjective ( PERSON )

Click to hear the UK pronunciation of this wordClick to hear the US pronunciation of this word/ˈplaɪ.ənt/ adj

Definition

•
Pliant people are easily influenced or controlled by other people
I don't think it's a good thing for children to be too pliant.
•
being able and willing to accept change or new ideas
The management has adopted a more pliant position, and has agreed to listen to the staff's requests.

pliancy noun

Click to hear the UK pronunciation of this wordClick to hear the US pronunciation of this word/ˈplaɪ.ənt .si/ n [U]

pliantly adverb

Click to hear the UK pronunciation of this wordClick to hear the US pronunciation of this word/ˈplaɪ.ənt.li/ adv

(Definition of pliant adjective (PERSON) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

NEW “pliant” in other dictionaries

More Results for “pliant”

Word of the Day

doddle

something that is very easy to do

Word of the Day ►

Blog

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

Learn More ►

New Words

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.

Learn More ►

Cambridge University Press

About | About the Corpus | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Accessibility | Cambridge ELT | © Cambridge University Press 2011