as in obedience
a readiness or willingness to yield to the wishes of others
dogs bred for docility instead of aggressiveness
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Recent Examples of docility
Carlson-Wee introduces himself to Wood with the sweet docility of a young boy meeting his hero.
—
Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
The same goes for docility, often characterized as a near neighbor of meekness.
—Timothy J. Pawl, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2026
Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
The same goes for docility, often characterized as a near neighbor of meekness.
—Timothy J. Pawl, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for docility
Noun
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Eid al-Adha is one of the holiest days in Islam and commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God before God provided an animal to sacrifice instead.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
31 May 2026
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The festival commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God, with millions of livestock being sacrificed across Bangladesh during the celebration.—
Anthony Thompson,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
Noun
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Attraction is a function of parentage and looks and submissiveness.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
6 May 2026
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But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Of course, all of this convenient acquiescence will sound familiar in the United States, where our own Congress and Department of Justice have been nothing if not servile to a brazenly corrupt executive.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
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Writing in the early 1890s, Nadar deployed Balzac’s reported initial mistrust and later acquiescence to the daguerreotype as an allegory of larger significance for understanding the history of invention.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Docility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/docility. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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