[syn: limber, supple]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Supple \Sup"ple\, v. i.
To become soft and pliant.
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The stones . . .
Suppled into softness as they fell. --Dryden.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Supple \Sup"ple\ (s[u^]p"p'l), a. [OE. souple, F. souple, from
L. supplex suppliant, perhaps originally, being the knees.
Cf. Supplicate.]
1. Pliant; flexible; easily bent; as, supple joints; supple
fingers.
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2. Yielding; compliant; not obstinate; submissive to
guidance; as, a supple horse.
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If punishment . . . makes not the will supple, it
hardens the offender. --Locke.
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3. Bending to the humor of others; flattering; fawning;
obsequious. --Addison.
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Syn: Pliant; flexible; yielding; compliant; bending;
flattering; fawning; soft.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Supple \Sup"ple\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Suppled (s[u^]p"p'ld);
p. pr. & vb. n. Suppling (s[u^]p"pl[i^]ng).]
1. To make soft and pliant; to render flexible; as, to supple
leather.
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The flesh therewith she suppled and did steep.
--Spenser.
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2. To make compliant, submissive, or obedient.
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A mother persisting till she had bent her daughter's
mind and suppled her will. --Locke.
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They should supple our stiff willfulness. --Barrow.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
supple
adj 1: moving and bending with ease [syn: lissome, lissom,
lithe, lithesome, slender, supple, svelte,
sylphlike]
2: (used of e.g. personality traits) readily adaptable; "a
supple mind"; "a limber imagination" [syn: limber,
supple]
3: (used of persons' bodies) capable of moving or bending freely
[syn: limber, supple]
v 1: make pliant and flexible; "These boots are not yet suppled
by frequent use"