Synonyms of pliant

pliant

adjective

ˈplī-ənt 

as in flexible

able to bend easily without breaking

a pliant branch bent low with the weight of ripe fruit

Synonyms & Similar Words

• flexible
• pliable
• plastic
• supple
• floppy
• limber
• willowy
• lissom
• bendy
• lithe
• adaptable
• lissome
• malleable
• yielding
• lithesome
• elastic
• ductile
• modifiable
• limp
• variable
• fluid
• flaccid
• kneadable
• semiflexible
• droopy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rigid
• stiff
• stiffened
• inflexible
• inelastic
• unyielding
• fragile
• brittle
• nonmalleable
• breakable

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective pliant contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of pliant are adaptable, ductile, malleable, plastic, and pliable. While all these words mean "susceptible of being modified in form or nature," pliant may stress flexibility and sometimes connote springiness.

an athletic shoe with a pliant sole

When is it sensible to use adaptable instead of pliant?

While in some cases nearly identical to pliant, adaptable implies the capability of being easily modified to suit other conditions, needs, or uses.

computer hardware that is adaptable

Where would ductile be a reasonable alternative to pliant?

The synonyms ductile and pliant are sometimes interchangeable, but ductile applies to what can be drawn out or extended with ease.

ductile metals such as copper

When could malleable be used to replace pliant?

Although the words malleable and pliant have much in common, malleable applies to what may be pressed or beaten into shape.

the malleable properties of gold

When would plastic be a good substitute for pliant?

In some situations, the words plastic and pliant are roughly equivalent. However, plastic applies to substances soft enough to be molded yet capable of hardening into the desired fixed form.

plastic materials allow the sculptor greater freedom

When is pliable a more appropriate choice than pliant?

The words pliable and pliant can be used in similar contexts, but pliable suggests something easily bent, folded, twisted, or manipulated.

pliable rubber tubing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pliant

Political parties have been dissolved by a pliant judiciary. —Sun Narin, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

During subsequent decades, the Soviets and its pliant regime were defeated, the country was racked by civil war, and various Islamist groups became ascendant, including the Mujahedin, Taliban, al-Qaeda, and Isis-Khorasan. —Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2025

Notably, Assad was pliant to the ayatollahs’ Iran, the theocratic state bent on reshaping the region in the name of Shi’ite jihad. —Bassem Eid, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2025

By aligning with these groups, Iran could build a network of loyalist forces and proxies to sustain its influence in Syria even in the absence of a pliant ruling regime. —Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2024