pliant. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

pliant

SYLLABICATION:	pli·ant
PRONUNCIATION:	plnt
ADJECTIVE:	1. Easily bent or flexed; pliable. See synonyms at malleable. 2. Easily altered or modified to fit conditions; adaptable. 3. Yielding readily to influence or domination; compliant.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English, from Old French, present participle of plier, to fold, bend, from Latin plicre. See plek- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	plian·cy, pliant·ness —NOUN pliant·ly —ADVERB


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.