What does pliable mean?
Word: Pliable
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Pliable means soft or bendy enough to change shape without breaking.
How do you spell pliable?
Syllables: pli - a - ble
Tricky part: The ending is -able, the same as in usable. It is said so lightly that plible and pliabel turn up in answers.
Watch out for: plible, pliabel
Memory tip: Warm clay is the perfect example: you are able to bend it, and able is what you will find at the end of this word.
Pliable in a sentence
Example 1: After the rain, the mud by the pond was pliable enough to shape into little pots.
Example 2: My new sandals became more pliable after a week of walking.
Example 3: Keep the dough pliable by covering it with a damp cloth.
Fun Fact
Thin strips of bamboo are so pliable that weavers in Assam and Tripura turn them into baskets, mats and fine screens.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) reliable
b) appliance
c) playable
d) plyable
Show answer
d) plyable. The word for something easy to bend takes an i, not a y, straight after the l.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with the word closest in meaning:
1. huge 2. pliable 3. brief a. flexible b. enormous c. short
a) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
b) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c. Huge is close to enormous, a bendy thing is flexible, and brief is close to short.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
Soak the cane in warm water for an hour and it becomes ___ enough to weave into a chair seat.
a) portable
b) pitiable
c) probable
d) pliable
Show answer
d) pliable. Soaking softens the cane, so it bends without snapping.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
bleialp 1234567
a) 7245163
b) 1325764
c) 4127356
d) 3452617
Show answer
a) 7245163. Taking the letters in that order gives the adjective for bendy things.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A craft teacher asks for something pliable. What should you bring?
a) a strip of soft leather
b) a slab of hard granite
c) a dry clay brick
d) a thick pane of glass
Show answer
a) a strip of soft leather
2. Why is copper wire better than a glass rod for a model's curved frame?
a) it is far more see-through than the rod
b) it melts away in a warm room
c) it gives off a bright light when touched
d) it can be shaped by hand and holds the curve
Show answer
d) it can be shaped by hand and holds the curve
