different between flexible vs indefinite

English

Etymology

From Middle French flexible, from Latin flexibilis, from flect? (“I bend, curve”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?fl?k.s?.b?l/, /?fl?k.s?.b?l/

Adjective

flexible (comparative more flexible, superlative most flexible)

1. Capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned or twisted without breaking.

   Synonym: pliable

   Antonyms: stiff, brittle, inflexible

   When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks. -William Shakespeare

2. Willing or prone to give way to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate.

   Synonyms: tractable, manageable, ductile

   Phocion was a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people. - Francis Bacon.

   Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible. - William Shakespeare

3. Capable or being adapted or molded in some way.

   Synonyms: plastic, malleable

   a flexible language

   This was a principle more flexible to their purpose. -Rogers.

Synonyms

Derived terms

• flexibly
• flexibleness

Related terms

• flexibility
• inflexible

Translations

See also

• foldable

Noun

flexible (plural flexibles)

1. (chiefly engineering and manufacturing) Something that is flexible.

References

• flexible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• flexible on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• flexibility on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin flexibilis.

Adjective

flexible (epicene, plural flexibles)

1. flexible

   Antonym: inflexible

Related terms

• flexibilidá

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /fl?k?si.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /flek?si.ble/

Adjective

flexible (masculine and feminine plural flexibles)

1. flexible

   Antonym: inflexible

Derived terms

• disc flexible
• flexibilitzar

Related terms

• flexibilitat

Further reading

• “flexible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “flexible” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “flexible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “flexible” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fl?k.sibl/
• Homophone: flexibles
• Hyphenation: flex?sible

Adjective

flexible (plural flexibles)

1. flexible

Derived terms

• flexiblement
• inflexible

Related terms

• flexibilité

Further reading

• “flexible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Alternative forms

• flexíbel

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin flexibilis.

Adjective

flexible m or f (plural flexibles)

1. flexible

Antonyms

• inflexible, inflexíbel

Related terms

• flexibilidade

Further reading

• “flexible” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

German

Adjective

flexible

1. inflection of flexibel:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin flexibilis, from flect? (“to bend, curve”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fle??sible/, [fle???si.??le]

Adjective

flexible (plural flexibles)

1. flexible (clarification of this definition is needed)

   Antonym: inflexible

Derived terms

• disco flexible
• flexibilidad
• flexibilizar
• flexibilización

Related terms

• flexión
• flexionar

Further reading

• “flexible” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Etymology

From Late Latin ind?f?n?tus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?d?f?n?t/
• Hyphenation: in?def?i?nite

Adjective

indefinite (comparative more indefinite, superlative most indefinite)

1. Without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite.
2. Vague or unclear.
3. Undecided or uncertain.
4. (mathematics) Being an integral without specified limits.
5. (linguistics) Designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing or group of persons or things

   the indefinite article

Synonyms

• (without limit): unlimited, unrestricted
• (vague or unclear): hazy; see also Thesaurus:indistinct or Thesaurus:vague
• (undecided or uncertain): indeterminate, unsettled, indecisive, unsure
• (an integral without specified limits):
• (designating an unspecified thing):

Derived terms

• indefinitely
• indefinite article
• indefiniteness
• indef

Related terms

• indeterminate

Translations

Noun

indefinite (plural indefinites)

1. (grammar) A word or phrase that designates an unspecified or unidentified person or thing or group of persons or things.

Italian

Adjective

indefinite f pl

1. feminine plural of indefinito

Latin

Adjective

ind?f?n?te

1. vocative masculine singular of ind?f?n?tus

References

• indefinite in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• indefinite in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette