docile
/ˈdɑ.səl/adjective
docile is spelled D-O-C-I-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, docile means “Ready to accept instruction or direction; obedient; subservient” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in docile?
| Letters | 6: D-O-C-I-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,549th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is docile?
Docile appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce docile?
- UK /ˈdəʊ.saɪl/
- US /ˈdɑ.səl/
- US /ˈdɑ.saɪl/
Docile has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-docile.ogg, En-us-docile2.ogg, En-au-docile.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with docile?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as docile from its last stressed vowel (/ɑsəl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: coiled.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of docile
- more docile comparative
- most docile superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does docile mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Ready to accept instruction or direction; obedient; subservient.
- 2
Yielding to control or supervision, direction, or management.
Such literature may well be anathema to those, who are too docile and petty for their own good.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Docile in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense yielding to control:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | docile |
| German | fügsam, gefügig, steuerbar, handhabbar, sanftmütig, gutmütig |
| Portuguese | dócil |
| Spanish | dócil |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does docile come from?
From Middle English docyle, from Middle French docile, from Latin docilis, from docēre (“teach”). Compare Portuguese dócil ("docile").
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).