Yieldable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of being surrendered, given up, or produced when requested or under pressure
2. Capable of being relinquished, granted, or produced in response to requests or demands while also having the ability to be adaptable or malleable to various situations
3. Able to be surrendered, submitted, or produced upon request while also possessing the quality of being flexible or adaptable to different circumstances

Etymology: "Yieldable" is a plain formation: the verb "yield" with the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being." Yield itself comes from Old English "gieldan," meaning to pay or repay, which is why the adjective carries the sense of something that can be handed over or paid out. The suffix "-able" comes through Old French from Latin "-abilis," and English attached it freely to native verbs like this one. The adjective is the more interesting part of the family, because its meaning is shaped by the verb's double life. "Yield" also means to give way under force, so "yieldable" covers both the surrendering of a position and the producing of something, such as a crop or a return. The word carries those two strands together without any single one dominating.

Synonyms: flexible, compliant, submissive, adaptable, malleable

Antonyms: rigid, stubborn, unyielding, inflexible, tenacious