malleable

adjective

mal·​lea·​ble ˈma-lē-ə-bəl 

ˈmal-yə-bəl,

ˈma-lə-bəl

1

: capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer or by the pressure of rollers

2

a

: capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influences

b

: having a capacity for adaptive change

Did you know?

Malleable comes from the Latin verb malleare, meaning "to hammer." Malleare itself comes from the Latin word for "hammer," malleus. If you have guessed that maul and mallet, other English words for specific types of hammers, are related to malleus, you have hit the nail on the head.

Synonyms

• moldable
• plastic
• shapable
• shapeable
• waxy

Choose the Right Synonym for malleable

plastic, pliable, pliant, ductile, malleable, adaptable mean susceptible of being modified in form or nature.

plastic applies to substances soft enough to be molded yet capable of hardening into the desired fixed form.

plastic materials allow the sculptor greater freedom

pliable suggests something easily bent, folded, twisted, or manipulated.

pliable rubber tubing

pliant may stress flexibility and sometimes connote springiness.

an athletic shoe with a pliant sole

ductile applies to what can be drawn out or extended with ease.

ductile metals such as copper

malleable applies to what may be pressed or beaten into shape.

the malleable properties of gold

adaptable implies the capability of being easily modified to suit other conditions, needs, or uses.

computer hardware that is adaptable

Examples of malleable in a Sentence

The brothers Warner presented a flexible, malleable world that defied Newton, a world of such plasticity that anything imaginable was possible. —Billy Collins, Wall Street Journal, 28–29 June 2008

At each landing the villagers had carved the wonderfully malleable silt into staircases, terraces, crenellations, and ziggurats. —Kenneth Brower, National Geographic Traveler, March 2000

The boy seemed to me possessed by a blind, invalid arrogance, and every human being, as his eye flicked over or flinched against them, became, immediately, as malleable as his mother and his father. —James Baldwin, The Evidence of Things Not Seen, 1985

the cult leader took advantage of the malleable, compliant personalities of his followers

Recent Examples on the Web

The Bulls are highly motivated to complete a series of trades this week, which means being malleable with contracts to glean as much draft capital and salary-cap flexibility as possible. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2025

In a statement, a US Department of Defense official appeared to suggest that the timeline could be malleable. —Mick Krever, CNN, 24 Jan. 2025

Both adults and children can experience lead poisoning, but kids are especially at risk because their growing bones are softer and more malleable. —Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 24 Jan. 2025

Frangieh, the head of the Maranda movement, was the scion of an old Lebanese political family (his grandfather had been president during the 1970s), a friend of Syria's Bashar Al-Assad, and was considered to be malleable by the then-powerful Hezbollah. —Daniel Markind, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English malliable, from Medieval Latin malleabilis, from malleare to hammer, from Latin malleus hammer — more at maul

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

malleable

adjective

mal·​lea·​ble ˈmal-ē-ə-bəl 

ˈmal-(y)ə-bəl

1

: capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer or by the pressure of rollers

a malleable metal

2

: capable of being changed so as to fit new uses or situations : flexible, adaptable

malleability

ˌmal-ē-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

ˌmal-(y)ə-ˈbil-

noun