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adj. 1. Easily bent or flexed; pliable. See Synonyms at malleable. 2. Easily altered or modified to fit conditions; adaptable: a pliant poetic form. 3. Yielding readily to influence or domination; compliant: a pliant colonial regime. [Middle English, from Old French, present participle of plier, to fold, bend, from Latin plicāre; see plek- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] plian·cy, pliant·ness n. pliant·ly adv. |
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