malleable
mal·le·a·ble[ˈmæɫiəbɫ̩]adjective
malleable is spelled M-A-L-L-E-A-B-L-E: 9 letters and 4 syllables (mal·le·a·ble). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, malleable means “Able to be hammered into thin sheets; capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer, or by the pressure of rollers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in malleable?
| Letters | 9: M-A-L-L-E-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: mal·le·a·ble |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,176th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is malleable?
Malleable appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th 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 malleable?
- /ˈmæl.iː.ə.bəl/
- UK [ˈmaɫiəbəɫ]
- US [ˈmæɫiəbɫ̩]
Malleable has 4 syllables, split mal·le·a·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-malleable.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of malleable
- more malleable comparative
- most malleable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does malleable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Able to be hammered into thin sheets; capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer, or by the pressure of rollers.
- 2
Flexible, liable to change.
My opinion on the subject is malleable.
- 3
in which an adversary can alter a ciphertext such that it decrypts to a related plaintext
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Malleable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense able to be hammered into thin sheets:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | malléable |
| German | hämmerbar, schmiedbar, formbar, verformbar, dehnbar, plastisch |
| Portuguese | maleável |
| Spanish | maleable |
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 malleable come from?
From Middle French malléable, borrowed from Late Latin malleābilis, derived from Latin malleāre (“to hammer”), from malleus (“hammer”), from Proto-Indo-European *mal-ni- (“crushing”), an extended variant of *melh₂- (“crush, grind”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).