suppleness

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˈsʌpəlnəs/ UK /ˈsʌpəlnəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the quality of being flexible, pliant, or able to bend easily

Years of yoga gave her remarkable suppleness of spine.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the quality of being... flexibility pliancy pliabilitylimbernesselasticitylitheness

Opposites

stiffness rigidity inflexibility

Word family

Related forms supple supply

Etymology

From supple (from Old French souple, from Latin supplex 'submissive, bending under', from sub- 'under' + plicare 'to bend, fold') plus the noun-forming suffix -ness.

supplex Latin plicāre Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# suppleness

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsʌpəlnəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsʌpəlnəs/

## Meanings
1. the quality of being flexible, pliant, or able to bend easily

## Examples
- Years of yoga gave her remarkable suppleness of spine.

## Synonyms
- flexibility
- pliancy
- pliability
- limberness
- elasticity
- litheness

## Antonyms
- stiffness
- rigidity
- inflexibility

## Related Forms
- supple
- supply

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: supplex
- Root: plicāre

## Etymology
From supple (from Old French souple, from Latin supplex 'submissive, bending under', from sub- 'under' + plicare 'to bend, fold') plus the noun-forming suffix -ness.

## AI Etymology
Suppleness is from supple (from Old French souple, from Latin supplex 'submissive, bending under', from sub- 'under' + plicare 'to bend, fold') plus the noun-forming suffix -ness. Important recorded forms include supplex (Latin) and plicāre (Latin). Morphologically, the sub- element contributes the sense of under, below, secondary status, or movement from beneath, with the base naming the field of application. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers the quality of being flexible, pliant, or able to bend easily. The wider family includes related words such as supple and supply.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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