Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Flexible
Flex′i-ble
,Adj.
[L.
flexibilis
: cf. F. flexible
.] 1.
Capable of being flexed or bent; admitting of being turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; yielding to pressure; not stiff or brittle.
When the splitting wind
Makes
Makes
flexible
the knees of knotted oaks. Shakespeare
2.
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. Bacon.
Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and
flexible
. Shakespeare
3.
Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic,;
– as, a
. flexible
languageFlex′i-ble-ness
, Noun.
Flex′i-bly
, adv.
Webster 1828 Edition
Flexible
FLEX'IBLE
,Adj.
1.
That may be bent; capable of being turned or forced from a straight line or form without breaking; pliant; yielding to pressure; not stiff; as a flexible rod; a flexible plant.2.
Capable of yielding to intreaties, arguments or other moral force; that may be persuaded to compliance; not invincibly rigid; or obstinate; not inexorable.Phocion was a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people.
It often denotes, easy or too easy to yield or comply; wavering; inconstant; not firm.
3.
Ductile; manageable; tractable; as the tender and flexible minds of youth. Flexible years or time of life, the time when the mind is tractable.4.
That may be turned or accommodated.This was a principle more flexible to their purpose.
Definition 2024
flexible
flexible
English
A flexible tube
A flexible display
A flexible gymnast
Adjective
flexible (comparative more flexible, superlative most flexible)
- 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. -William Shakespeare
- 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. - Francis Bacon.
- Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible. - William Shakespeare
- Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic,
- a flexible language
- This was a principle more flexible to their purpose. -Rogers.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
easily bent without breaking
|
|
easy and compliant
|
|
capable or being adapted or molded
See also
Noun
flexible (plural flexibles)
- (chiefly engineering and manufacturing) Something that is flexible.
References
- flexible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
-
flexible on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- flexibility on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Asturian
Etymology
From Latin flexibilis.
Adjective
flexible (epicene, plural flexibles)
Antonyms
Related terms
- flexibilidá
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.
Adjective
flexible m, f (masculine and feminine plural flexibles)
Antonyms
Related terms
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /flɛk.sibl/
- Homophone: flexibles
- Hyphenation: flex‧sible
Adjective
flexible m, f (plural flexibles)
Derived terms
Related terms
Galician
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.
Adjective
flexible m, f (plural flexibles)
Antonyms
Related terms
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin flexibilis, from flectō (“I bend, curve”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /flekˈsi.βle/
Adjective
flexible m, f (plural flexibles)
- flexible (all senses)