How to Use pliant in a Sentence

pliant

adjective
  • The crust is crisp but still pliant; foldable, but not floppy.
    — Ian McNulty, NOLA.com, 30 Sep. 2020
  • But even installing a more pliant director may not do him much good.
    — vanityfair.com, 11 May 2017
  • The dumplings were soft and pliant on one side and perfectly browned and crisp on the other.
    — Mara Severin, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Jan. 2018
  • The meat was pliant and custard-like, steamed to the texture of trembly silk.
    — Shauna Lyon, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2021
  • The meat was pliant and custard-like, steamed to the texture of trembly silk.
    — The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2021
  • But whether that would make Tehran more pliant, let alone spur regime change, is questionable.
    — Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Chassis settings are pliant to the point of sometimes feeling soft.
    — Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 24 June 2022
  • These tortillas stay pliant and won’t crack or crumble under pressure.
    — Paul Stephen, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Apr. 2021
  • News outlets that for so long had been pliant to Castro could not ignore the outcry.
    — Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 6 Feb. 2024
  • At that rehearsal, the floor of the studio suddenly seemed to feel softer, warmer, more pliant.
    — Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2023
  • All the tough pieces of the leaves of kale are cut away, with the pliant parts then chiffonaded into a fluffy mountain.
    — Bethany Jean Clement, The Seattle Times, 29 June 2017
  • But time has not dimmed the wattage of his recall for shenanigans having to do with pliant jury members and bags of francs.
    — Steven Gaydos, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024
  • They're placed atop pliant injera, the sourdough flatbread that's both tasty platter and utensil.
    — Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11 Nov. 2021
  • The testicles feel almost real — the skin is soft and gently wrinkly; the ball itself is firm, but pliant.
    — Allison P. Davis, The Cut, 13 May 2018
  • The fans brought up onstage to learn choreography with Jayne were happy and pliant.
    — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2023
  • The unions want their pliant board majority in place through 2032.
    — U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2026
  • Her nutty toffee ice cream, swirled with whole and chopped pecans, is rich and chewy, like pecan pie in a cup, and stays pliant and soft in the freezer for weeks.
    — Soleil Ho, SFChronicle.com, 14 Dec. 2020
  • The real continuity, though, is the singer's pliant tenor that navigates each mood and style.
    — Nancy Kruh, Peoplemag, 19 Sep. 2022
  • Some satirists have begun targeting these pliant broadcasters as well.
    — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 11 Apr. 2026
  • Silva is a tortilla artist; Sonoran-style flour discs are her pliant canvases.
    — Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2020
  • Some bones, however, were pliant enough to receive special treatment.
    — Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Starchy potato and lots of powdered sugar come together to form a pliant dough that's rolled up with sugary peanut butter.
    — Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 14 Dec. 2024
  • In the sublime Adagietto, the string sound was glowing and plush; the phrasing urgent yet pliant.
    — New York Times, 25 Feb. 2020
  • It has not been quashed, as claimed by those in the government who seek to bury it and as reported in the pliant Spanish media.
    — Time, 21 Oct. 2019
  • In 2018, an even more pliant body, the supreme electoral court, ratified the verdict.
    — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2020
  • The Super Stretch pants are pliant enough for climbing, with the pockets and seams of everyday pants.
    — Ariella Gintzler, Outside Online, 1 June 2018
  • Armiliato’s urgent yet pliant pacing breathed with the singers yet refused to allow rhythms to slacken or the long line to sag.
    — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 8 Oct. 2017
  • The final result is a pizza with a juicy and slightly slippery topping that is supported by the thick cushion of pliant crust.
    — Tara Duggan, SFChronicle.com, 14 Dec. 2020
  • Hers is the kind of face that inspires directors to tight framing — gleaming, as if smoothed from marble, and yet somehow pliant, changeful.
    — Jordan Kisner Jack Davison, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2022
  • The roasted carrots are cooked to a pliant, mellow sweetness that ricochets off the tart pickles and the crunch of the raw vegetables.
    — Jenn Harriscolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pliant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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