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ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Docile

/ˈdəʊ.saɪl/ · adjective

Meaning

Ready to accept instruction or direction; obedient; subservient..

Definitions by Sense

  1. Ready to accept instruction or direction; obedient; subservient.
  2. Yielding to control or supervision, direction, or management.

Example Sentences

With that he dropped his head again, lamenting over and caressing her, and there was not a sound in all the house for a long, long time; they remaining clasped in one another’s arms, in the glorious sunshine that had crept in with Florence. He dressed himself for going out, with a docile submission to her entreaty; and walking with a feeble gait, and looking back, with a tremble, at the room in which he had been so long shut up, and where he had seen the picture in the glass, passed out with her into the hall.
Harriet certainly was not clever, but she had a sweet, docile, grateful disposition; was totally free from conceit; and only desiring to be guided by any one she looked up to.
Such literature may well be anathema to those, who are too docile and petty for their own good.

Synonyms for docile

amenablebiddablecomplaisantcompliantcontrollabledocilegovernableindulgentmanageablemaniablemeekpassivepliantrulabletractableyieldingteachablebowsomebuxomhearsomemorigerousobedibleobedientobsequentobsequioustalltowardmalleablesubmissivesheepish

Antonyms for docile

authoritarianbossydictatorialdominantdomineeringimperiousoverbearingdefiantobstinateperverserebelliousrecalcitrantwilfulincompliantincontrollableindocileintractablenonamenablenoncompliantnoncontrollablenondocilenonindulgentnonpassivenonpliantnonyieldingunamenableunbiddableuncomplaisantuncompliantuncontrollable

Related Words

yieldingtractableteachabletamedtamegentlemeeksheeplikesheepishcompliantamenableobedientsubmissivedomesticbiddablesuppletowardeasydomitablepliant

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does docile mean?

Docile means Ready to accept instruction or direction; obedient; subservient..

What is a synonym for docile?

Common synonyms include amenable, biddable, complaisant, compliant.

What is the opposite of docile?

Possible antonyms include authoritarian, bossy, dictatorial, dominant.

How do you use docile in a sentence?

With that he dropped his head again, lamenting over and caressing her, and there was not a sound in all the house for a long, long time; they remaining clasped in one another’s arms, in the glorious sunshine that had crept in with Florence. He dressed himself for going out, with a docile submission to her entreaty; and walking with a feeble gait, and looking back, with a tremble, at the room in which he had been so long shut up, and where he had seen the picture in the glass, passed out with her into the hall.

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.