v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Flexed p. pr. & vb. n. Flexing. ] [ L. flexus, p. p. of flectere to bend, perh. flectere and akin to falx sickle, E. falchion. Cf. Flinch. ] To bend; as, to flex the arm. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Flax. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. flexanimus; flectere, flexum, to bend + animus mind. ] Having power to change the mind. [ Obs. ] Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. flexibilitas: cf. F. flexibilite. ] The state or quality of being flexible; flexibleness; pliancy; pliability; as, the flexibility of strips of hemlock, hickory, whalebone or metal, or of rays of light. Sir I. Newton. [ 1913 Webster ]

All the flexibility of a veteran courtier. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. flexibilis: cf. F. flexible. ] 1. Capable of being flexed or bent; admitting of being turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; yielding to pressure; not stiff or brittle. [ 1913 Webster ]

When the splitting wind
Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Willing or ready to yield to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate; tractable; manageable; ductile; easy and compliant; wavering. [ 1913 Webster ]

Phocion was a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic, ; as, a flexible language. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

Syn. -- Pliant; pliable; supple; tractable; manageable; ductile; obsequious; inconstant; wavering.

-- Flex"i*ble*ness, n. -- Flex"i*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. flexus bent + E. costate. ] (Anat.) Having bent or curved ribs. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. flexilis. ] Flexible; pliant; pliable; easily bent; plastic; tractable. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. flexio: cf. F. flexion. ] 1. The act of flexing or bending; a turning. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A bending; a part bent; a fold. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Gram.) Syntactical change of form of words, as by declension or conjugation; inflection. [ 1913 Webster ]

Express the syntactical relations by flexion. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Physiol.) The bending of a limb or joint; that motion of a joint which gives the distal member a continually decreasing angle with the axis of the proximal part; -- distinguished from extension. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL. ] (Anat.) A muscle which bends or flexes any part; as, the flexors of the arm or the hand; -- opposed to extensor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ short for flexible time. ] A system of scheduling working hours in places of employment, which allows employees to arrive at and leave work at times of their own choice, providing that they work the required number of hours and usually requiring that they be present during certain hours, called core time. Certain workers prefer to arrive early and leave early, and others prefer to arrive late and leave late. Flex time is a way to accommodate such preferences, presumably improving employee morale, and also helps reduce traffic congestion during commmuting times. [ PJC ]