suppleness
Ability to bend
Suppleness is the quality of bending easily without breaking or stiffening.
It applies to physical things—the suppleness of leather, of a dancer's limbs, of young branches.
Extended uses describe mental or strategic flexibility: The negotiations required suppleness on both sides.
The word carries positive connotations, suggesting grace and adaptability rather than weakness.
Ability to adapt easily
- limbernessBodily flexibility
- pliabilityAbility to bend easily
- lithenessFlexible, graceful quality
- bendabilityCapacity to flex
elasticity · stretch · give · softness · lissomeness · yielding · range of motion · looseness
Ability to bend easily
- malleabilityCapacity for deformation without breaking
- ductilityAbility to stretch unbroken
- workabilityEase of handling material
- plasticityAbility to change shape
rubberiness · springiness · give · tensile · leather · suede · silk · cashmere
Quickness and ease
- nimblenessEase of quick movement
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- fluidityState of flowing freely
- dexteritySkillful hand coordination
coordination · lithe · sinuous · flowing · gliding · undulating · catlike · serpentine
Capacity for elastic recovery
- reboundReturn after deflection
- bounceSpring back after impact
- recoilBackward force from discharge
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
elasticity · buoyancy · responsiveness · give-and-take · resistance · durability · tensile strength · memory
flexibility
Ability to adapt easily
- limbernessBodily flexibility
- pliabilityAbility to bend easily
- lithenessFlexible, graceful quality
bendability · elasticity · stretch · give · softness · lissomeness · yielding · range of motion · looseness · fluidity
pliability
Ability to bend easily
- malleabilityCapacity for deformation without breaking
- ductilityAbility to stretch unbroken
- workabilityEase of handling material
plasticity · rubberiness · springiness · give · tensile · leather · suede · silk · cashmere · chamois
agility
Quickness and ease
- nimblenessEase of quick movement
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- fluidityState of flowing freely
dexterity · coordination · lithe · sinuous · flowing · gliding · undulating · catlike · serpentine · effortless
springiness
Capacity for elastic recovery
recovery · elasticity · buoyancy · responsiveness · give-and-take · resistance · durability · tensile strength · memory · retention
- resilienceresilience, grit, bounce back, bouncing back, robustness
- horsemanshipriding lesson, riding lessons, riding school, riding schools, riding instructor
- fabric traitssoftness, soft, stiffness, smooth, breathability
- leather qualitiessoftness, durability, flexibility, thickness, grain
- leatherworkleather, tanning, carving, tanner, saddler
- plasticityclay, putty, dough, wax, polymer
supplenessstiffness
Resistance to deformation
rigidity · inflexibility · hardness · brittleness · woodenness
supplenessrigidity
State of being unbending
inflexibility · stubbornness · obstinacy · intractability · unyieldingness
supply, supple, supplying, supplication, supplicate, supplicant, pliantness, supplely, bendiness