malleable
adjUK [ˈmaɫiəbəɫ] · US [ˈmæɫiəbɫ̩]
Etymology From Middle French malléable, borrowed from Late Latin malleābilis, derived from Latin malleāre (“to hammer”), from malleus (“hammer”), from Proto-Indo-European *mal-ni- (“crushing”), an extended variant of *melh₂- (“crush, grind”).
1
Able to be hammered into thin sheets; capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer, or by the pressure of rollers.
2
Figuratively Flexible, liable to change.
- My opinion on the subject is malleable.
- The psychosocial factors in this study are malleable and provide target areas for enhancing mental health in those with high levels of autistic traits.2024 November 5, Lorna Camus, Kirsty Jones, Emily O’Dowd, Bonnie Auyeung, Gnanathusharan Rajendran, Mary Elizabeth Stewart, “Autistic Traits and Psychosocial Predictors of Depressive Symptoms”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, →DOI:
1 more example
- And all over Hollywood, suits are licking their chops at the prospect of more malleable actors. “She’s not going to talk back,” one top talent wrangler told me dryly.2025 October 4, Maureen Dowd, “When A.I. Came for Hollywood”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Oct 2025:
3
Computing, Cryptography, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Of an algorithm in which an adversary can alter a ciphertext such that it decrypts to a related plaintext
- Derived terms
- immalleable, malleable iron, malleableization, malleableize, malleablize, nonmalleable, semimalleable, unmalleable
- Related terms
- malleability, malleableness, malleably, malleate
- Coordinate terms
- ductile