What's the difference between flexible and pliable?

Flexible


Definition:

  • (a.) Capable of being flexed or bent; admitting of being turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; yielding to pressure; not stiff or brittle.
  • (a.) Willing or ready to yield to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate; tractable; manageable; ductile; easy and compliant; wavering.
  • (a.) Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic,; as, a flexible language.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Many speak about how yoga and surfing complement each other, both involving deep concentration, flexibility and balance.
  • (2) Results on resting blood pressure, serum lipids, vital capacity, flexibility, upper body strength, and vertical jump tests were comparable to values found for the sedentary population.
  • (3) This suggests that S1 is a flexible protein with at least two domains that can rotate independently.
  • (4) A more current view of science, the Probabilistic paradigm, encourages more complex models, which can be articulated as the more flexible maxims used with insight by the wise clinician.
  • (5) With improved monitoring, the use of smaller, more flexible endoscopes, and more experience, routine general anesthesia in children less than 3 years of age, as recommended in the past, may not be mandatory.
  • (6) Flexibility and integration of approaches may be advantageous and hypnosis, including regression and reframing, may be especially powerful in the treatment of phobics.
  • (7) The drug orientation and the DNA orientation (reflecting flexibility) are observed to vary differently and nonmonotonically with binding ratio, suggesting specific binding and varying site geometries.
  • (8) Extraction tools included flexible, telescoping sheaths advanced over the lead to dilate scar tissue and apply countertraction, deflection catheters, and wire basket snares.
  • (9) Flexibility is essential so that the appropriate technique or agent can be selected for a particular pediatric ICU patient.
  • (10) The flexible adaptation of psychosomatic aspects to the current needs of dermatologists was found most important.
  • (11) Lenses with inserted flexible open loops (e.g., Dubroff) have only been implanted in small series, but the results have been quite good.
  • (12) The presence of aspartic acid and asparagine residues in other conformations, such as those in partially denatured, conformationally flexible regions, may lead to more rapid succinimide formation and contribute to the degradation of the molecule.
  • (13) Eight alpha-helices behave as relatively rigid bodies and corner regions are more flexible, showing larger fluctuations.
  • (14) We interpret the high resistance of this protein to urea as reflecting a reduced flexibility of its structure at normal temperatures which should be correlated to the thermophilic origin of this protein.
  • (15) We argue that the power and flexibility of computer simulation as a technique for dealing with uncertainty and variability is especially appropriate in the case of HIV and AIDS.
  • (16) A one-way analysis of variance showed that there were no significant differences in flexibility of the five fixation constructs (P greater than .05).
  • (17) All patients with distal polyps detected during flexible sigmoidoscopy underwent colonoscopy.
  • (18) A small helix is identified at the carboxy terminus of A2 which emerges through the central pore of the B subunits and probably comes into contact with the membrane upon binding, whereas the A1 subunit is flexible with respect to the B pentamer.
  • (19) These observations strongly suggest that (i) GCN4 specifically recognizes the central base pair, (ii) the optimal half-site for GCN4 binding is ATGAC, not ATGAG, and (iii) GCN4 is a surprisingly flexible protein that can accommodate the insertion of a single base pair in the center of its compact binding site.
  • (20) New laws to give parents more flexible leave and strong commitments to family-friendly working hours will be among the headline measures.

Pliable


Definition:

  • (v.) Capable of being plied, turned, or bent; easy to be bent; flexible; pliant; supple; limber; yielding; as, willow is a pliable plant.
  • (v.) Flexible in disposition; readily yielding to influence, arguments, persuasion, or discipline; easy to be persuaded; -- sometimes in a bad sense; as, a pliable youth.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) For removal of catheter fragments from vessels of small diameter, such as the subclavian vein, or vessels in which the catheter has to take an acute bend to enter, such as the right or left pulmonary artery, a smaller, more pliable Bean-Smith-Mahorner biliary stone helical basket was adapted by extending the length of wire to 100 cm.
  • (2) In this theory the isoprenoid chain of the retinal is considered a structurally pliable molecular entity that can generate charge redistributions and can be subsequently achieve intermediate conformations or various isomeric states to minimize the energy of the new protein structure generated by light.
  • (3) The plug is made of a soft, pliable plastic material with open cells, containing a carbon filter which allows flatus to pass odour-free.
  • (4) A patient's epiglottis became trapped between the pliable grates in the mask portion of the laryngeal mask and partially obstructed his airway.
  • (5) In regard to valvular anatomy, 67 had calcified valves, 58 had pliable valves and only mild subvalvular disease, and 75 had flexible valves but extensive subvalvular disease.
  • (6) Add as much of the sparkling water as you need to make a smooth, pliable mixture.
  • (7) As he checks the woman’s heart with a stethoscope, he explains exactly what is about to happen to her – the nurses will hook her up to an EKG machine, among other procedures – and gets the woman to lie down, still muttering at the original nurse but pliable.
  • (8) The splitting of several calcareous nodules on a valve made it more pliable.
  • (9) Explanted valves showed no tissue thickening or shrinkage, problems seen with earlier valves made with untreated autogenous tissue, and the leaflets remained pliable, free of the degenerative changes usually seen in the sheep model.
  • (10) A pliable, easy to place, double pigtail, internal ureteral stent made of elastomeric polyurethane is described.
  • (11) The operation resulted into a normally looking penis through the creation of a wide neourethra starting with a meatus at the apex of the glans and covered by a pliable elastic hair-less skin.
  • (12) In contrast to the pectoralis major myocutaneous flap, the pectoralis major muscle flap is light and pliable.
  • (13) Cabinet members speedily agreed to hefty cuts in 2010 and proved so pliable that the "star chamber", which hears appeals from ministers against the Treasury, never met once.
  • (14) It remains pliable until light is applied, allowing adjustments in shape for a well-fitted implant without time constraints.
  • (15) The Wallstent (Medinvent SA, Lausanne, Switzerland), a pliable, tubular stainless steel mesh, is the metallic stent of choice for treatment of malignant strictures and can be implanted in a single session resulting in a shortened hospital stay for patients undergoing palliation of irresectable biliary tumours.
  • (16) Optimal results may be expected in patients in normal sinus rhythm, with pliable mitral leaflets, and with no severe subvalvular disease identified by echocardiography, who undergo dilation with large effective balloon dilating areas.
  • (17) Clonidine has been incorporated into a small, pliable adhesive cutaneous delivery device designed to provide therapeutically effective doses of drug at a constant rate for at least 7 days.
  • (18) The hypopharyngeal mucosa is a thin, pliable lining, which often needs replacement after tumor excision, stenosis and fistulae.
  • (19) The data suggest that LICS act as pliable fluid reservoirs that empty and collapse on stimulation of Cl secretion.
  • (20) The many difficulties associated with bladder stimulation include simultaneous sphincter contraction, pain, electrode and insulation difficulties, and fibroplasia due to movement of electrodes placed in pliable tissues.