supple
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/icons/point.icon ELASTIC, RESILIENT, SPRINGY, FLEXIBLE, SUPPLE mean able to endure strain without being permanently injured.
ELASTIC implies the property of resisting deformation by stretching.
e.g. an elastic waistband
RESILIENT implies the ability to recover shape quickly when the deforming force or pressure is removed.
e.g. a resilient innersole
SPRINGY stresses both the ease with which something yields to pressure and the quickness of its return to original shape.
e.g. the cake is done when the top is springy
FLEXIBLE applies to something which may or may not be resilient or elastic but which can be bent or folded without breaking.
e.g. flexible plastic tubing
SUPPLE applies to something that can be readily bent, twisted, or folded without any sign of injury.
e.g. supple leather
adjective (suppler, supplest)
bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible:
〈人の身体･肌などが〉柔らかい, しなやかな
e.g. her supple fingers
〈人･心などが〉柔軟な; 従順な
e.g. figurative : my mind is becoming more supple.
not stiff or hard; easily manipulated:
〈物が〉曲げやすい, 柔軟性がある(flexible)
e.g. this body oil leaves your skin feeling deliciously supple.
verb with object
make more flexible.
DERIVATIVES
supplely |ˈsəp(ə)lē| (also supply) adverb
suppleness |ˈsəpəlnəs| noun
ORIGIN
Middle English: from Old French souple, from Latin supplex, supplic- ‘submissive’, from sub- ‘under’ + placere ‘propitiate’.