flexible

English Online Dictionary. What means flexible‎? What does flexible mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle French flexible, from Latin flexibilis, from flectō (“I bend, curve”).

Morphologically flex +‎ -ible.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈflɛk.sɪ.bəl/, /ˈflɛk.sə.bəl/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈflek.sɪ.bəl/

Adjective

flexible (comparative more flexible, superlative most flexible)

1. Capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned or twisted without breaking.

   Synonym: pliable

   Antonyms: stiff, brittle, inflexible, rigid
2. Willing or prone to give way to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate.

   Synonyms: tractable, manageable, ductile
3. Capable of adapting or changing to suit new or modified conditions or situations.

4. Capable or being adapted or molded in some way.

   Synonyms: plastic, malleable

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• flexibility
• inflexible

Translations

See also

• foldable

Noun

flexible (plural flexibles)

1. (chiefly engineering and manufacturing) Something that is flexible.

References

• “flexible”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• flexible on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• flexibility on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin flexibilis.

Adjective

flexible (epicene, plural flexibles)

1. flexible

   Synonym: flesible

   Antonym: inflexible

Related terms

• flexibilidá

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [fləkˈsib.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [flekˈsi.ble]

Adjective

flexible m or f (masculine and feminine plural flexibles)

1. flexible

   Antonym: inflexible

Derived terms

• disc flexible
• flexibilitzar

Related terms

• flexibilitat

Further reading

• “flexible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “flexible”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “flexible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “flexible” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flɛk.sibl/
• Homophone: flexibles
• Hyphenation: flexible

Adjective

flexible (plural flexibles)

1. flexible

Derived terms

• flexiblement
• inflexible

Related terms

• flexibilité

Further reading

• “flexible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Alternative forms

• flexível (reintegrationist)
• flexíbel

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin flexibilis.

Adjective

flexible m or f (plural flexibles)

1. flexible

   Antonyms: inflexible, inflexíbel

Related terms

• flexibilidade

Further reading

• “flexible”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

flexible

1. inflection of flexibel:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin flexibilis, from flectō (“to bend, curve”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fleɡˈsible/ [fleɣ̞ˈsi.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: fle‧xi‧ble

Adjective

flexible m or f (masculine and feminine plural flexibles)

1. flexible (clarification of this definition is needed)

   Antonym: inflexible

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “flexible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

Swedish

Adjective

flexible

1. definite natural masculine singular of flexibel