In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
FLEXIBLE
flexible, whippy
(adjective) bending and snapping back readily without breaking
flexible, flexile
(adjective) able to flex; able to bend easily; “slim flexible birches”
flexible
(adjective) capable of being changed; “flexible schedules”
compromising, conciliatory, flexible
(adjective) making or willing to make concessions; “loneliness tore through him...whenever he thought of...even the compromising Louis du Tillet”
elastic, flexible, pliable, pliant
(adjective) able to adjust readily to different conditions; “an adaptable person”; “a flexible personality”; “an elastic clause in a contract”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
flexible (comparative more flexible, superlative most flexible)
Capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned or twisted without breaking.
Synonym: pliable
Antonyms: stiff, brittle, inflexible
Willing or prone to give way to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate.
Synonyms: tractable, manageable, ductile
Capable or being adapted or molded in some way.
Synonyms: plastic, malleable
Synonyms
• bendsome
• ductile
• inconstant
• manageable
• obsequious
• pliant
• pliable
• supple
• tractable
• wavering
Noun
flexible (plural flexibles)
(chiefly, engineering and manufacturing) Something that is flexible.
Source: Wiktionary
Flex"i*ble, a. Etym: [L. flexibilis: cf. F. flexible.]
1. Capable of being flexed or bent; admitting of being turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; yielding to pressure; not stiff or brittle. When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks. Shak.
2. Willing or ready to yield to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate; tractable; manageable; ductile; easy and compliant; wavering. Phocion was a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people. Bacon. Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible. Shak.
3. Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic,; as, a flexible language. This was a principle more flexible to their purpose. Rogers.
Syn.
– Pliant; pliable; supple; tractable; manageable; ductile; obsequious; inconstant; wavering.
– Flex"i*ble*ness, n.
– Flex"i*bly, adv.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
2 April 2025
COVERT
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
Coffee Trivia
