flexible
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle French flexible, from Latin flexibilis, from flectō (“I bend, curve”).
Morphologically flex + -ible.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
flexible (comparative more flexible, superlative most flexible)
- Capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned or twisted without breaking.
- Synonym: pliable
- Antonyms: stiff, brittle, inflexible, rigid
- c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks.
- Willing or prone to give way to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate.
- Synonyms: tractable, manageable, ductile
- 1625, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the chapter)”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
- Phocion the Athenian (a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people […]
- c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
- Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible.
- Capable of adapting or changing to suit new or modified conditions or situations.
- You can't always get what you want: you need to learn to be flexible.
- Capable or being adapted or molded in some way.
- 1735, John Rogers, Nineteen Sermons on various occasions:
- This they foresaw was a Principle more flexible to their Purpose
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
easily bent without breaking
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easy and compliant
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capable or being adapted or molded
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also edit
Noun edit
flexible (plural flexibles)
- (chiefly engineering and manufacturing) Something that is flexible.
- 2009 August 19, Terry McCrann, “Win-win deal for the times”, in Herald Sun[1], archived from the original on 22 August 2009:
- Alcan is mostly flexibles -- and so it boosts Amcor's flexible packaging business to a globally significant $7 billion one.
References edit
- “flexible”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- flexible on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- flexibility on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Asturian edit
Etymology edit
From Latin flexibilis.
Adjective edit
flexible (epicene, plural flexibles)
- flexible
- Synonym: flesible
- Antonym: inflexible
Related terms edit
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
flexible m or f (masculine and feminine plural flexibles)
- flexible
- Antonym: inflexible
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “flexible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “flexible”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “flexible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “flexible” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
flexible (plural flexibles)
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “flexible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.
Adjective edit
flexible m or f (plural flexibles)
- flexible
- Antonyms: inflexible, inflexíbel
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “flexible” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
German edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Adjective edit
flexible
- inflection of flexibel:
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin flexibilis, from flectō (“to bend, curve”).
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
flexible m or f (masculine and feminine plural flexibles)
- flexible (clarification of this definition is needed)
- Antonym: inflexible
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “flexible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014