pliable
/ˈplaɪəbəl/adjective
pliable is spelled P-L-I-A-B-L-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pliable means “Soft, flexible, easily bent, formed, shaped, or molded” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pliable?
| Letters | 7: P-L-I-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is pliable?
Pliable appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th 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 pliable?
- /ˈplaɪəbəl/
Pliable has 3 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-pliable.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pliable
- more pliable comparative
- most pliable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pliable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Soft, flexible, easily bent, formed, shaped, or molded.
You will find the clay perfectly pliable as long as it stays moist.
- 2
Easily persuaded; yielding to influence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pliable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense easily bent or formed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pliable, pliant |
| German | biegsam, geschmeidig |
| Portuguese | maleável, moldável, flexível |
| Spanish | plegable, plegadizo |
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 pliable come from?
From Middle French, from Old French ploiable, from ploiier (“to fold”). By surface analysis, ply + -able. Compare pliant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).