flexible

(flĕk'sə-bəl)
adj.

1. 1. Capable of being bent or flexed; pliable.
   2. Capable of being bent repeatedly without injury or damage.
2. Susceptible to influence or persuasion; tractable.
3. Responsive to change; adaptable: a flexible schedule.

[From Latin flexibilis, from flexus, past participle of flectere, to bend.]

flexibility flex'i·bil'i·ty or flex'i·ble·ness n.
flexibly flex'i·bly adv.

SYNONYMS   flexible, elastic, resilient, supple. These adjectives refer literally to what is capable of withstanding stress without injury and figuratively to what can undergo change or modification: a flexible wire; flexible plans; an elastic rubber band; an elastic interpretation of the law; thin, resilient copper; a resilient temperament; supple suede; a supple mind.

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adjective

1. Capable of being shaped, bent, or drawn out, as by hammering or pressure: ductile, flexile, flexuous, malleable, moldable, plastic, pliable, pliant, supple, workable. See flexible/rigid.
2. Capable of withstanding stress without injury: elastic, flexile, resilient, springy, supple. Physics plastic. See flexible/rigid.
3. Easily altered or influenced: ductile, elastic, flexile, impressionable, malleable, plastic, pliable, pliant, suggestible, supple. See flexible/rigid.
4. Capable of adapting or being adapted: adaptable, adaptive, adjustable, elastic, malleable, pliable, pliant, supple. See change/persist.

adj

Definition: adaptable, responsive
Antonyms: inflexible, obstinate, ornery, rigid, stern, stubborn, unaccommodating, unadaptable, unresponsive, unyielding

adj

Definition: pliable, bendable
Antonyms: brittle, inflexible, resistant, rigid, stiff, unbendable, unpliable, unyielding

IN BRIEF: Bending easily or easily changed.

Editors must be flexible about what goes in a newspaper when there is breaking news.

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sign description: Both closed AND hands move back and forth in opposing directions.

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The state of being unusually pliant.

For a list of words related to flexible, see:

• Submissive, Uncertain, or Tentative

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See words rhyming with "flexible."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Flexible.

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - bøjelig, smidig, fleksibel

Nederlands (Dutch)
flexibel, buigzaam, volgzaam

Français (French)
adj. - flexible, souple, à échéances variables

Deutsch (German)
adj. - flexibel, biegsam

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - εύκαμπτος, ευλύγιστος, ελαστικός

Italiano (Italian)
flessibile

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - flexível

Русский (Russian)
эластичный, гибкий, легко гнущийся

Español (Spanish)
adj. - flexible, elástico, adaptable

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - flexibel

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
易曲的, 柔软的, 灵活的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 易曲的, 柔軟的, 靈活的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 구부리기 쉬운, 나긋나긋한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 曲げやすい, 柔順な, 柔軟な, 順応性のある, 融通のきく
n. - 曲げやすいもの

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مرن‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮גמיש, משתנה, ניתן לשליטה‬

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