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
The same goes for docility, often characterized as a near neighbor of meekness.
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Timothy J. Pawl, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2026
Timothy J. Pawl, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for docility
Noun
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The group pledged full obedience to the new leader.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Mar. 2026
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Once Waukegan Park District dog obedience teacher Karin Magnuson instructs her charges on how to make their pets sit, get down, heel and stay, some return so their dogs can participate in the Ruffin Relays — a form of advanced training.—
Steve Sadin,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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In Killers of the Flower Moon, his Ernest Burkhart starts off as a mopey, weak-minded World War One veteran, eager to do anything for his godfather uncle (Robert De Niro), but there’s still a certain likability to his dim-bulb submissiveness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This is a story that traces the path to justice for mass atrocity in the face of public acquiescence.—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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Kelley, Offerman, Fanning, and especially Pfeiffer do enough of the hard work to make acquiescence rather easy — and the ensuing journey a worthy reward.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Docility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/docility. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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