docile
AdjectiveUS[dos-uhl]/ˈdɑsəl/2 syllables
Open English WordNet
Adjective (3)
- willing to be taught or led or supervised or directed“the docile masses of an enslaved nation”Opposite obstinateSimilar yielding, sheeplike, meekSee also obedient, tractable
- ready and willing to be taught“docile pupils eager for instruction”“teachable youngsters”Synonyms: teachableOpposite intractableSimilar tractable, manipulable
- easily handled or managed“a gentle old horse, docile and obedient”Synonyms: gentleOpposite untamedSimilar tame, tamed
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docileadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Doc′ile adjective
Origin: L. docilis,fr. docere to teach; cf. Gr. …, and L. discere to learn, Gr. … learned, … knowing: cf. F. docile. Cf. Doctor, Didactic, Disciple.
1. Teachable; easy to teach; docible. obsolete
2. Disposed to be taught; tractable; easily managed; as, a docile child.
The elephant is at once docible and docile.— Charles John Smith
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54