I. ˈsəpəl, ÷ˈsüp- adjective
( usually suppler -p(ə)lə(r ; usually supplest -p(ə)lə̇st)
Etymology: Middle English souple, from Old French, yielding, pliant, from Latin supplic-, supplex submissive, suppliant, literally, bending under, from sub- + -plic- (akin to plicare to fold) — more at ply
1.
a. : characterized by suggestibility, yielding compliance, or complaisance often to the point of being artfully or servilely obsequious
b. : characterized by ready adaptability to new situations, flexibility, and responsiveness
the supple spirit is hidden under an external directness and rough assertion — Hilaire Belloc
2.
a. : characterized by an ability to bend, twist, or fold without creases, cracks, breaks, or other injuries : pliant, soft, and yielding in texture
supple leather
b. : characterized by ease and readiness in bending or other actions and often by grace and agility : not stiff and awkward
c. : easy and fluent without stiffness, awkwardness, or turgidity
sang with a lively, supple voice — Douglas Watt
his painting … is remarkably supple in line and pattern — R.M.Coates
3. Scotland : sly , cunning
Synonyms:
limber , lithe , lithesome , lissome : supple suggests easy flexibility of musculature, excellent coordination, and light, free, unlabored movement; in extended uses it suggests easy, resilient, graceful movement or flow
mere manual labor stiffens the limbs, gymnastic exercises render them supple — Richard Jefferies
in good condition, — not fat, like grass-fed cattle, but trim and supple, like deer — John Burroughs
his use of language is always expert. Serviceable, supple, it is capable of a variety of effects — Dayton Kohler
limber may stress the fact of easy flexibility facilitating ready motion
keeping his players limber during the off-season
accustomed to mountain climbing, limber and agile
lithe suggests supple, slender, nimble grace
the jungle and the wilderness lurked in the uplift and downput of his feet. He was cat-footed, and lithe — Jack London
a lithe movement of her apparently boneless little figure — F. Tennyson Jesse
lithesome may suggest agile vigor
the warlike carriage of the men, and their strong, lithesome, resolute step — A.W.Kinglake
lissome suggests light feminine graceful bearing or activity
the lissome ladies who make their living modeling the latest French fashions — Time
she only wanted wings to fly away, easy and light and lissome — J.C.Ransom
Synonym: see in addition flexible .
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English souplen, from souple supple
transitive verb
1. : to reduce the resoluteness or violence of : make pacific or complaisant
mollify the hearts and supple the tempers of your race — Laurence Sterne
2. obsolete : to soothe or alleviate by application of a salve
3. : to make supple : treat so as to make flexible or plaint
the rawhide was worn and suppled into a fair grade of dry tan leather — H.L.Davis
intransitive verb
archaic : to become soft, pliant, or complaisant