Meanings
comparative more malleable · superlative most malleable
- Able to be hammered into thin sheets; capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer, or by the pressure of rollers.
- figurativelyFlexible, liable to change.
My opinion on the subject is malleable.
2 more examples
The psychosocial factors in this study are malleable and provide target areas for enhancing mental health in those with high levels of autistic traits.
2024 November 5, Lorna Camus, Kirsty Jones, Emily O’Dowd, Bonnie Auyeung, Gnanathusharan Rajendran, Mary Elizabeth Stewart, “Autistic Traits and Psychosocial Predictors of Depressive Symptoms”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, →DOIAnd all over Hollywood, suits are licking their chops at the prospect of more malleable actors. “She’s not going to talk back,” one top talent wrangler told me dryly.
2025 October 4, Maureen Dowd, “When A.I. Came for Hollywood”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Oct 2025Synonyms: fictile
- computingIn which an adversary can alter a ciphertext such that it decrypts to a related plaintext.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFlexible, liable to change.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveeasily influenced
adjectivecapable of being shaped or bent or drawn out
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*mal-ni-“crushing”
- Latinmalleāre“to hammer”
- Late Latinmalleābilis
- Middle Frenchmalléable
- Englishmalleable
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”).
More words from Middle French, Late Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian ковък, податлив
- ковък (kovăk)able to be hammered into thin sheets
- податлив (podatliv)liable to change
Catalan mal·leable
- mal·leableable to be hammered into thin sheets
Chinese Mandarin 可锻造的
- 可锻造的able to be hammered into thin sheets
Czech kujný, měnitelný
- kujnýable to be hammered into thin sheets
- měnitelnýliable to change
- poddajnýliable to change
- tvarovatelnýliable to change
- tvárnýliable to change
Dutch hamerbaar, smeedbaar
- hamerbaarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- smeedbaarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- kneedbaarliable to change
- beïnvloedbaarliable to change
Esperanto maleebla, ŝanĝebla
- maleeblaable to be hammered into thin sheets
- ŝanĝeblaliable to change
Finnish taottava, mukautuvainen
- taottavaable to be hammered into thin sheets
- mukautuvainenliable to change
French malléable
- malléableable to be hammered into thin sheets
German hämmerbar, schmiedbar
- hämmerbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- schmiedbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- formbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- verformbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- dehnbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- plastischable to be hammered into thin sheets
- biegsamable to be hammered into thin sheets
- biegbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- weichable to be hammered into thin sheets
- geschmeidigable to be hammered into thin sheets
- veränderbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- gestaltbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
Hungarian nyújtható, képlékeny
- nyújthatóable to be hammered into thin sheets
- képlékenyliable to change
Italian malleabile, malleabile
- malleabileable to be hammered into thin sheets
- malleabileliable to change
- forgiabileliable to change
Māori māngohe
- māngoheable to be hammered into thin sheets
Norwegian bøyelig, fleksibel
- bøyeligable to be hammered into thin sheets
- fleksibelable to be hammered into thin sheets
- smidigable to be hammered into thin sheets
- fleksibelliable to change
- smidigliable to change
- formbarliable to change
Persian چکش خور, قابل انعطاف
- چکش خور (čakoš xor)able to be hammered into thin sheets
- قابل انعطاف (qâbel-e en'etâf)liable to change
- انعطاف پذیر (en'etâf pazir)liable to change
Polish kowalny, kujny
- kowalnyable to be hammered into thin sheets
- kujnyable to be hammered into thin sheets
- podatnyliable to change
Portuguese maleável, maleável
- maleávelable to be hammered into thin sheets
- maleávelliable to change
Romanian maleabil, maleabil
- maleabilable to be hammered into thin sheets
- maleabilliable to change
Russian ко́вкий, пластичный
- ко́вкий (kóvkij)able to be hammered into thin sheets
- пластичный (plastičnyj)able to be hammered into thin sheets
- пода́тливый (podátlivyj)liable to change
- восприимчивый (vospriimčivyj)liable to change
Slovak kujný
- kujnýable to be hammered into thin sheets
Spanish maleable, maleable
- maleableable to be hammered into thin sheets
- maleableliable to change
Swedish smidbar, smidbar
- smidbarable to be hammered into thin sheets
- smidbarliable to change
Tagalog pukpukin
- pukpukinable to be hammered into thin sheets
Turkish dövülgen
- dövülgenable to be hammered into thin sheets
Welsh morthwyliadwy, hydrin
- morthwyliadwyable to be hammered into thin sheets
- hydrinliable to change
- hyblygliable to change
Cite this entry
malleable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malleable
“malleable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malleable. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “malleable,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malleable.
Source: malleable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.