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Docile students have always made teaching easier than it otherwise would be. Today calling students "docile" indicates that they aren't trouble-makers, but there's more than just good behavior connecting docility to teachability. The original meaning of docile is more to the point: "readily absorbing something taught." "The docile mind may soon thy precepts know," rendered Ben Jonson, for example, in a 17th-century translation of the Roman poet Horace. Docile comes from the Latin verb docēre, which means "to teach." Other descendants of docēre include doctrine (which can mean "something that is taught"), document (an early meaning of which was "instruction"), and doctor and docent (both of which can refer to teachers).
Synonyms
Examples of docile in a Sentence
Cynthia Ozick, New Yorker, 16 & 23 June 2003
Africanized honeybees look like the European honeybees now commonly found in our gardens, and like their relatives, they make honey. They are fairly docile when they are foraging, but they defend their nests ferociously.
—Lynn Ocone, Sunset, February 1994
His students were docile and eager to learn.
a docile young pony that went wherever it was led
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
Continued authoritarianism, corruption, incompetence, unprofessionalism, and lack of reform outrage all Ukrainians, even those in his traditionally more docile base in the east and the south.
—Rajan Menon, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2011
Later, the film’s producers refused to grant the movie’s art and name to the paperback version of the book — as is customary, theoretically enhancing the promotion of both properties — which incensed the usually docile Mezrich.
—Simon Van Zuylen-Wood, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
The paintings, yes, thwart the racist stereotype that Asian women are meek and docile, but that’s not a statement Ba is trying to make.
—Ann Binlot, ARTnews.com, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for docile 
Dictionary Entries Near docile
Cite this Entry
“Docile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/docile. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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