flexibility

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Related to flexibility: speed

flex·i·ble

(flĕk′sə-bəl)

adj.

a. Capable of being bent or flexed; pliable: a flexible hose.

b. Readily bending or twisting the body without injury: You can play soccer much better if you're flexible.

2. Able to change to cope with variable circumstances: "a flexible and quietly competent administrator" (Jerome Karabel).

3. Capable of being changed or adjusted to meet particular or varied needs: a job with flexible hours; a flexible definition of normality.

[From Latin flexibilis, from flexus, past participle of flectere, to bend.]

flex′i·bil′i·ty, flex′i·ble·ness n.

flex′i·bly adv.

Synonyms: flexible, elastic, resilient, supple
These adjectives refer literally to what is capable of withstanding stress without damage and figuratively to what can undergo change or modification: a flexible wire; flexible plans; an elastic rubber band; an elastic interpretation of the law; thin, resilient copper; a resilient temperament; supple suede; a supple mind.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Flexibility/Inflexibility

See Also: HABIT

Adaptable as a Norwegian wharf rat —James Mills
Adjustable as prices of goods sold in a flea market —Anon
Adjust to as your eyes adjust to darkness or sudden light —Anon
Be pliable like a reed, not rigid like a cedar —Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar
Elastic as a criminal’s conscience —Anon
Elastic as a steel spring —Anon
Flexible as a diplomat’s conscience —Anon
Flexible as figures in the hands of the statistician —Israel Zangwill
Flexible as silk —Ouida
Has as much give as a tree trunk —Jimmy Breslin
Implacable an adversary as a wife suing for alimony —William Wycherly
(Softly, unhurriedly but) implacably, like a great river flowing on and on —Harvey Swados
Inflexible as a marble pillar —Anon
Inflexible as steel —Ouida
Inflexible as the rings of hell —John Cheever
Intractable as a driven ghost —Sylvia Plath
Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind —W. Somerset Maugham
(The adolescent personality is as) malleable as infant flesh —Barbara Lazear Ascher, New York Times/Hers, October 23, 1986
The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind —William Blake
Mind set like concrete —George Garrett
Pliable as wax —James Shirley
Pliant as cloth —Eugene Sue
Pliant as flesh —Linda Pastan
Rigidity yielding a little, like justice swayed by mercy, is the whole beauty of the earth —G. K. Chesterton
Set as a piece of sculpture —Charles Dickens
They made their hearts as an adamant stone —The Holy Bible/Apocrypha
A variation from “Hearts firm as stone” and “Cold as stone” from the Book of Job.
Uncompromising as a policeman’s club —Anon
Uncompromising as justice —William Lloyd Garrison
(There he was, as) unshakable as granite —Frank Swinnerton

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	flexibility - the property of being flexible; easily bent or shaped flexibleness malleability, plasticity - the property of being physically malleable; the property of something that can be worked or hammered or shaped without breaking bendability, pliability - the property of being easily bent without breaking whip - (golf) the flexibility of the shaft of a golf club inflexibility, inflexibleness - a lack of physical flexibility
	2.	flexibility - the quality of being adaptable or variable; "he enjoyed the flexibility of his working arrangement" flexibleness adaptability - the ability to change (or be changed) to fit changed circumstances wiggle room - flexibility of interpretation or of options; "the request left some wiggle room for future restructuring" inflexibility, rigidity, rigidness - the quality of being rigid and rigorously severe
	3.	flexibility - the trait of being easily persuaded tractability, tractableness trait - a distinguishing feature of your personal nature manageability, manageableness - capable of being managed or controlled docility - the trait of being agreeably submissive and manageable domestication, tameness - the attribute of having been domesticated amenability, amenableness, cooperativeness - the trait of being cooperative obedience - the trait of being willing to obey

flexibility

noun

1. elasticity, pliability, springiness, pliancy, tensility, give (informal) The flexibility of the lens decreases with age.

2. adaptability, openness, versatility, adjustability the flexibility of distance learning

3. complaisance, accommodation, give and take, amenability They should be ready to show some flexibility.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

flexibility

noun

The quality or state of being flexible:

bounce, ductility, elasticity, flexibleness, give, malleability, malleableness, plasticity, pliability, pliableness, pliancy, pliantness, resilience, resiliency, spring, springiness, suppleness.

Obsolete: flexure.

Translations

مُرونَه، لدانَه

ohebnostpřizpůsobivost

fleksibilitet

Flexibilität Biegsamkeit

ευελιξία ευλυγισία

flexibilidad

joustavuus

souplesse flexibilité

sveigjanleiki

flessibilit...flessibilità

bøyelighet fleksibilitet

flexibilitate

esneklik

灵活性

flexibility

[ˌfleksɪˈbɪlɪtɪ] N → flexibilidad f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

flexibility

[ˌflɛksɪˈbɪlɪti] n

[material, object] → flexibilité f

(= adaptability) [person, organization, schedule] → flexibilité f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

flexibility

(lit) → Biegsamkeit f, → Elastizität f

(fig) → Flexibilität f; (of engine) → Elastizität f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

flexibility

[ˌflɛksɪˈbɪlɪtɪ] n → flessibilità, elasticità

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

flex

(fleks) verb

to bend, especially in order to test. to flex one's muscles.

noun

(a piece of) thin insulated wire for carrying electricity. That lamp has a long flex.

ˈflexible adjective

1. that can be bent easily. flexible metal.

2. able or willing to change according to circumstances etc. My holiday plans are very flexible.

ˌflexiˈbility noun

ˈflexitime noun

a system where employees may choose their own working hours.

flex·i·bil·i·ty

n. flexibilidad, propiedad de flexionar.

flexibility

n flexibilidad f

References in classic literature ?

Flexibility of mind, a disposition easily biassed by others, is an attribute which you know I am not very desirous of obtaining; nor has Frederica any claim to the indulgence of her notions at the expense of her mother's inclinations.

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By the grace of her movements, by the softness and flexibility of her small limbs, and by a certain coyness and reserve of manner, she reminded one of a pretty, half-grown kitten which promises to become a beautiful little cat.

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Arrayed in his blue frock and duck trousers, he was as smart a looking sailor as ever stepped upon a deck; he was singularly small and slightly made, with great flexibility of limb.

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It is couched, like so much of his work, in the autobiographic form, which next to the dramatic form is the most natural, and which lends itself with such flexibility to the purpose of the author.

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Hence I am inclined to look at adaptation to any special climate as a quality readily grafted on an innate wide flexibility of constitution, which is common to most animals.

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Here by intermarriage with the native women they rapidly developed into a race which while retaining all their original courage and enterprise took on also, together with the French language, the French intellectual brilliancy and flexibility and in manners became the chief exponent of medieval chivalry.

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Miss Hepzibah, at any rate, will lose what little flexibility she has.

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The strongest and most reliable hold which the ship has upon the whale when moored alongside, is by the flukes or tail; and as from its greater density that part is relatively heavier than any other (excepting the side-fins), its flexibility even in death, causes it to sink low beneath the surface; so that with the hand you cannot get at it from the boat, in order to put the chain round it.

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The flesh was white and fresh, and both the arm and hand preserved a degree of flexibility in the articulations.

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He pre- sented them as tilted, stiff tripods, without either flexibility or subtlety, and with an altogether misleading monotony of effect.

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His arms became stiff, his legs lost their flexibility, and he was almost breathless.

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Her mouth, at first sight, seemed only made for love; but, the instant that its muscles moved, every expression that womanly dignity could utter played around it with the flexibility of female grace.