What does supple mean?
Supple means easily bent, flexible, or pliable, and it is especially associated with graceful physical movement. A supple body, pair of limbs, or piece of leather bends without seeming stiff or resistant. The word can also describe a person who is yielding or adaptable, particularly in negotiations or difficult circumstances, although this figurative sense may imply an absence of firmness. As a verb, supple means to make something flexible or to become flexible. The adjective is common in both British and American English and has a slightly literary or elegant tone compared with more neutral terms such as flexible and pliable. Supple is useful when describing movement with grace, softness, or ease, and when emphasizing responsiveness rather than simply the absence of rigidity.
Bending easily; flexible, pliable, or yielding. Figuratively, readily accommodating or compliant.
"The supple branches swayed gently in the wind."
The physical sense is dominant today; the sense of being yielding or compliant is less common and somewhat formal.
To make something flexible or pliable; also, intransitively, to become flexible.
"Repeated use of the lotion helped supple the leather."
The transitive form is more usual than the intransitive form.
Supple can describe a body that bends easily or a person who is unusually accommodating: flexibility of both kind.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does supple come from?
Supple entered Middle English from Old French souple, meaning bent, yielding, or pliable. The Old French word came from Latin supplex, a form related to supplicare, meaning to bend oneself in supplication or entreaty. The English word originally carried both physical ideas of flexibility and moral ideas of yielding or submission.
Related word forms
How supple is actually used
Supple is most often used for physical flexibility, especially of the body, skin, or leather. Its figurative use for being accommodating or yielding is somewhat formal and can suggest either tactfulness or excessive compliance.
Easily confused with supple
Simple means uncomplicated, plain, or easy to understand, whereas supple means flexible, pliable, or yielding.