| / English Dictionary |
FLEXIBLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Bending and snapping back readily without breaking
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
elastic (capable of resuming original shape after stretching or compression; springy)
Derivation:
flexibility; flexibleness (the property of being flexible; easily bent or shaped)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Able to flex; able to bend easily
Example:
slim flexible birches
Synonyms:
flexible; flexile
Classified under:
Similar:
bendable; pliable; pliant; waxy (capable of being bent or flexed or twisted without breaking)
double-jointed (having unusually flexible joints especially of the limbs or fingers)
limber; supple ((used of persons' bodies) capable of moving or bending freely)
limber ((used of artifacts) easily bent)
spinnable; spinnbar (capable of being spun into fibres)
stretched ((of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching)
Also:
elastic (capable of resuming original shape after stretching or compression; springy)
Antonym:
inflexible (resistant to being bent)
Derivation:
flex (cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form)
flexibility; flexibleness (the property of being flexible; easily bent or shaped)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Capable of being changed
Example:
flexible schedules
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
limber; supple ((used of e.g. personality traits) readily adaptable)
negotiable; on the table (able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise)
Antonym:
inflexible (incapable of change)
Derivation:
flexibleness (the quality of being adaptable or variable)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Making or willing to make concessions
Example:
loneliness tore through him...whenever he thought of...even the compromising Louis du Tillet
Synonyms:
compromising; conciliatory; flexible
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
yielding (tending to give in or surrender or agree)
Derivation:
flexibility (the trait of being easily persuaded)
flexibleness (the quality of being adaptable or variable)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Able to adjust readily to different conditions
Example:
an elastic clause in a contract
Synonyms:
elastic; flexible; pliable; pliant
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
adaptable (capable of adapting (of becoming or being made suitable) to a particular situation or use)
Derivation:
flexibility; flexibleness (the quality of being adaptable or variable)
Context examples:
Instead, the tail is long and flexible, with keels of feathers running down each side, said Ryan McKellar of Canada's Royal Saskatchewan Museum.
(Scientists find dinosaur feathers preserved in amber, Wikinews)
A flexible container, often with a single opening.
(Bag Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)
A long slender flexible material usually consisting of several strands woven or twisted together; a part of the body resembling a cord.
(Cord, NCI Thesaurus)
A flexible cable designed to connect electronic devices.
(Cord Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)
A small bore flexible feeding tube with a weighted metal tip that is ideally placed in the second or third part of the duodenum.
(Nasoduodenal Tube, NCI Thesaurus)
A substance being studied in the treatment of bacterial infections from catheters (flexible tubes used to deliver fluids into or take fluids from the body).
(minocycline-EDTA, NCI Dictionary)
A thin, flexible tube that is inserted into a large vein, usually in the back of the hand, the lower part of the arm, or the foot.
(Peripheral venous catheter, NCI Dictionary)
A thin, flexible tube that is inserted into a vein in the upper arm and guided (threaded) into a large vein near the heart called the vena cava.
(Peripherally inserted central catheter, NCI Dictionary)
A device that is made from or resembles a thin flexible sheet of material.
(Membrane Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)
A device consisting of a tube containing flexible optic fibers that may be inserted into a body opening to allow a doctor to examine hollow organs inside the body.
(Endoscope, NCI Thesaurus)
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