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Docile students have always made teaching easier than it otherwise would be. Today calling students "docile" indicates that they aren't trouble-makers, but there's more than just good behavior connecting docility to teachability. The original meaning of docile is more to the point: "readily absorbing something taught." "The docile mind may soon thy precepts know," rendered Ben Jonson, for example, in a 17th-century translation of the Roman poet Horace. Docile comes from the Latin verb docēre, which means "to teach." Other descendants of docēre include doctrine (which can mean "something that is taught"), document (an early meaning of which was "instruction"), and doctor and docent (both of which can refer to teachers).
Examples of docile in a Sentence
Cynthia Ozick, New Yorker, 16 & 23 June 2003
Africanized honeybees look like the European honeybees now commonly found in our gardens, and like their relatives, they make honey. They are fairly docile when they are foraging, but they defend their nests ferociously.
—Lynn Ocone, Sunset, February 1994
His students were docile and eager to learn.
a docile young pony that went wherever it was led
Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
This was a bird so docile and unafraid of environmental threats it was hunted out of existence in less than 100 years.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
One of these animals, the tegu, is a popular reptile import thanks to its flashy looks and docile personality.
—Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 13 May 2025
On the other end of the spectrum was the more docile Kelly who often felt conflicted when her morals clashed with the cunning needed to succeed in the game.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for docile
Cite this Entry
“Docile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/docile. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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