biddable
adjective
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A biddable individual is someone you can issue an order to—that is, someone who will do your bidding. The word dates to the late 18th century, and currently our earliest evidence for it is a quote in the Scottish National Dictionary. There are a number of words in English that do what biddable does. Tractable, amenable, and docile are three of them. Biddable is often applied to children and indicates a ready, constant inclination to follow orders, requests, and suggestions. Tractable suggests characteristics that make for easy guiding, leading, ordering, or managing; its antonym intractable (as in "intractable problems") is more common. Amenable indicates a disposition to be agreeable or complaisant as well as a lack of assertive independence. Docile can stress a disposition to submit, either due to guidance and control or to imposition and oppression.
Synonyms
- amenable
- compliant
- conformable
- docile
- law-abiding
- obedient
- submissive
- tractable
Example Sentences
Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 30 Apr. 2022 Border collies, for instance, tend to be more biddable than the average dog. Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 30 Apr. 2022 Border collies, for instance, tend to be more biddable than the average dog. Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 30 Apr. 2022 Border collies, for instance, tend to be more biddable than the average dog. Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 30 Apr. 2022 But when the final ruling on the case comes down, the wider campaign to stoke fear into a more biddable public will really begin. Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 May 2022 Border collies, for instance, tend to be more biddable than the average dog. Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 30 Apr. 2022 Herding breeds tended to be more biddable - or easily trained - and played with toys more than other breeds. Katie Shepherd, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Apr. 2022 Among these behaviors, breed did play some role — for example, beagles and bloodhounds tend to howl more, border collies are biddable, and Shiba Inus are far less so. CBS News, 29 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
circa 1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1
biddable
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- obedient
- docile
- compliant
- tractable
- submissive
- amenable
- restrained
- decorous
- conformable
- meek
- gentle
- controllable
- acquiescent
- dutiful
- amiable
- soft
- obliging
- agreeable
- tame
- law-abiding
- subordinate
- subservient
- repressed
- servile
- governable
- obsequious
- constrained
- disciplined
- fawning
- duteous
- trainable
- placable
- yielding
- orderly
- mannerly
- obeisant
- slavish
- manageable
- teachable
- kowtowing
- mild
- surrendering
- handleable
- inhibited
- curbed
- disciplinable
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- obstreperous
- wilful
- willful
- recalcitrant
- intractable
- disobedient
- rebellious
- defiant
- unruly
- ungovernable
- restive
- wayward
- headstrong
- stubborn
- insubordinate
- contumacious
- refractory
- mutinous
- noncompliant
- unamenable
- obstinate
- contrary
- balky
- hardheaded
- obdurate
- mulish
- peevish
- unyielding
- uncontrollable
- untoward
- rebel
- froward
- insurgent
- unmanageable
- dogged
- wild
- defiant
- mischievous
- resistant
- incompliant
- pigheaded
- perverse
- self-willed
- naughty
- balky
- bad
- undisciplined
- errant
- disorderly
- impudent
- insolent
- nonconformist
- rude
- dissident
- disrespectful
- ill-bred
- impolite
- misbehaving
- ill-mannered