Meanings
adjectiveflexible (comparative more flexible, superlative most flexible)
comparative more flexible · superlative most flexible
- Capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned or twisted without breaking.
When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks.
c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]Synonyms: pliable · Antonyms: stiff, brittle, inflexible, rigid
- Willing or prone to give way to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate.
Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible.
c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]1 more example
Phocion the Athenian (a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people[…]
1625, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the chapter)”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLCSynonyms: tractable, manageable, ductile
- Capable of adapting or changing to suit new or modified conditions or situations.
You can't always get what you want: you need to learn to be flexible.
nounflexible (plural flexibles)
plural flexibles
- businessSomething that is flexible.
Alcan is mostly flexibles -- and so it boosts Amcor's flexible packaging business to a globally significant $7 billion one.
2009 August 19, Terry McCrann, “Win-win deal for the times”, in Herald Sun, archived from the original on 22 Aug 2009
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveCapable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned or twisted without breaking.
Similar
Opposite
adjectiveWilling or prone to give way to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate.
Similar
Opposite
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveable to flex; able to bend easily
Opposite
adjectivemaking or willing to make concessions
Also see
ac/dcadaptableambisextrousbendablebendingbendybibisexualbowablebroad-mindedbuxomcompromisingconciliatorydarwiniandouble-jointedductileelasticflexilelimberlimber as a dishraglissomlithemellownegotiableon the tableplasticpliablepliantresilientsoftspinnablesuppleswitch-hittingvariablewaxywhippywithyyielding
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinflexibilis
- Middle Frenchflexible
- Englishflexible
From Middle French flexible, from Latin flexibilis, from flectō (“to bend, curve”). Morphologically flex + -ible.
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek εὐκαμπής, καμπτός
- εὐκαμπής (eukampḗs)easily bent without breaking
- καμπτός (kamptós)easily bent without breaking
Arabic مَرِن
- مَرِن (marin)easy and compliant
Bulgarian гъвкав, податлив
- гъвкав (găvkav)easily bent without breaking
- податлив (podatliv)easy and compliant
- приспособяващ се (prisposobjavašt se)capable or being adapted or molded
Catalan flexible, flexible
- flexibleeasily bent without breaking
- flexibleeasy and compliant
- flexiblecapable or being adapted or molded
Chinese Mandarin 靈活 /灵活
- 靈活 /灵活 (línghuó)easily bent without breaking
Czech ohebný
- ohebnýeasily bent without breaking
Danish fleksibel, smidig
- fleksibeleasily bent without breaking
- smidigeasily bent without breaking
- fleksibeleasy and compliant
- føjeligeasy and compliant
Dutch buigzaam, flexibel
- buigzaameasily bent without breaking
- flexibeleasy and compliant
- flexibelcapable or being adapted or molded
Esperanto fleksa, fleksebla (bendable)
- fleksaeasily bent without breaking
- fleksebla (bendable)easily bent without breaking
- fleksiĝemaeasily bent without breaking
- elasta (deformable)easily bent without breaking
- flekseblaeasy and compliant
Estonian paindlik
- paindlikeasily bent without breaking
Finnish joustava, notkea
- joustavaeasily bent without breaking
- notkeaeasily bent without breaking
- kimmoisaeasily bent without breaking
- taipuvaeasily bent without breaking
- taipuisaeasily bent without breaking
- joustavaeasy and compliant
- joustavacapable or being adapted or molded
French flexible, flexible
- flexibleeasily bent without breaking
- flexibleeasy and compliant
- flexiblecapable or being adapted or molded
- maléablecapable or being adapted or molded
German biegsam, flexibel
- biegsameasily bent without breaking
- flexibeleasily bent without breaking
- elastischeasily bent without breaking
- dehnbareasily bent without breaking
- fügsameasy and compliant
- flexibeleasy and compliant
- elastischeasy and compliant
- nachgiebigeasy and compliant
- flexibelcapable or being adapted or molded
- dehnbarcapable or being adapted or molded
- weichcapable or being adapted or molded
Greek εύκαμπτος, ευέλικτος
- εύκαμπτος (éfkamptos)easily bent without breaking
- ευέλικτος (evéliktos)easy and compliant
Hebrew גמיש
- גמיש (gamísh)easily bent without breaking
Hindi लचीला
- लचीला (lacīlā)easily bent without breaking
Hungarian hajlékony, alkalmazkodó
- hajlékonyeasily bent without breaking
- alkalmazkodóeasy and compliant
- rugalmascapable or being adapted or molded
Icelandic sveigjanlegur, sveigjanlegur
- sveigjanlegureasily bent without breaking
- sveigjanlegureasy and compliant
- sveigjanlegurcapable or being adapted or molded
Irish aclaí, solúbtha
- aclaíeasily bent without breaking
- solúbthaeasily bent without breaking
- aclaíeasy and compliant
- solúbthaeasy and compliant
Italian flessibile, pieghevole
- flessibileeasily bent without breaking
- pieghevoleeasily bent without breaking
- flessibileeasy and compliant
- flessibilecapable or being adapted or molded
Japanese 柔軟な
- 柔軟な (jūnan na)easily bent without breaking
Korean 유연한
- 유연한 (yuyeonhan)easily bent without breaking
Latin flexilis, flexibilis
- flexiliseasily bent without breaking
- flexibiliseasily bent without breaking
- flexibiliseasy and compliant
Māori moruki, pīngore
- morukieasily bent without breaking
- pīngoreeasily bent without breaking
- ngāwarieasy and compliant
- kōngohecapable or being adapted or molded
Norwegian fleksibel
- fleksibeleasily bent without breaking
Polish elastyczny, gibki
- elastycznyeasily bent without breaking
- gibkieasily bent without breaking
- rozciągliwyeasily bent without breaking
- giętkieasily bent without breaking
- elastycznyeasy and compliant
- elastycznycapable or being adapted or molded
Portuguese flexível, flexível
- flexíveleasily bent without breaking
- flexíveleasy and compliant
- flexívelcapable or being adapted or molded
Romanian flexibil
- flexibileasily bent without breaking
Russian ги́бкий, покла́дистый
- ги́бкий (gíbkij)easily bent without breaking
- покла́дистый (pokládistyj)easy and compliant
- пода́тливый (podátlivyj)easy and compliant
- ги́бкий (gíbkij)capable or being adapted or molded
Scottish Gaelic lùbach
- lùbacheasily bent without breaking
Spanish flexible, doblegable
- flexibleeasily bent without breaking
- doblegableeasily bent without breaking
- flexibleeasy and compliant
- flexiblecapable or being adapted or molded
Swedish flexibel, böjlig
- flexibeleasily bent without breaking
- böjligeasily bent without breaking
Tagalog hutukin
- hutukineasily bent without breaking
Thai ยืดหยุ่น, ยืดหยุ่น
- ยืดหยุ่น (yʉ̂ʉt-yùn)easily bent without breaking
- ยืดหยุ่น (yʉ̂ʉt-yùn)capable or being adapted or molded
Turkish esnek, bükülgen
- esnekeasily bent without breaking
- bükülgeneasily bent without breaking
- elastikieasily bent without breaking
- fleksibleasy and compliant
- esnekeasy and compliant
- bükülgencapable or being adapted or molded
Ukrainian гнучки́й, гну́чий
- гнучки́й (hnučkýj)easily bent without breaking
- гну́чий (hnúčyj)easily bent without breaking
- ла́гідний (láhidnyj)easy and compliant
- покла́дливий (pokládlyvyj)easy and compliant
- посту́пливий (postúplyvyj)easy and compliant
Vietnamese co dãn, co giãn
- co dãneasily bent without breaking
- co giãneasily bent without breaking
- linh hoạteasy and compliant
- linh độngeasy and compliant
- linh hoạtcapable or being adapted or molded
Cite this entry
APA
flexible. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flexible
MLA
“flexible.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flexible. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flexible,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flexible.
Source: flexible on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.