Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

supple

/ˈsʌpəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.87 in modern English

Syllables: sup-ple
IPA: /ˈsʌpəl/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Pliant, flexible, easy to bend.

adj

Lithe and agile when moving and bending.

adj

Compliant; yielding to the will of others.

adj

Smooth and drinkable.

verb

To make or become supple.

verb

To make compliant, submissive, or obedient.

Transitive verb

name

Example Sentences

"Global supply chains, meanwhile, have grown both tighter and more supple since the late 1990s—the result of improving information technology and of freer trade—making routine work easier to relocate."
"supple joints"
"supple fingers"
"My hands are supple and small. A woman in a bread shop once said to me: “You have the hands for making fine little pastries.”"
"a supple horse"
"If punishment […] makes not the will supple, it hardens the offender."

Etymology

From Middle English souple, from Old French souple, soupple (“soft, lithe, yielding”), from Latin supplic-, supplex (“suppliant, submissive, kneeling”), of uncertain formation. Either from sub + plicō (“bend”) (compare complex), or from sub + plācō (“placate”). More at sub-, placate.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: souple

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈsʌpəl/
British English: /ˈsʌpəl/

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

suppler (comparative) supplest (superlative) supples (present, singular) suppling (participle, present) suppled (participle, past) suppled (past) Supples (plural)

Derived Forms

supplejack supplely suppleness supply unsupple unsuppled

Synonyms

limber lissome lissom lithe lithesome sinuous

Rhymes With

couple decouple uncouple ruppel tuple quintuple sextuple octuple throuple

Questions

How do you pronounce supple?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsʌpəl/.
What does supple mean?: Pliant, flexible, easy to bend.
Where does supple come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce supple

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “supple”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsʌpəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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