malleable

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 7, 2025 is: malleable MAL-ee-uh-bul adjective Something described as malleable is capable of being stretched or bent into different shapes, or capable of being easily changed or influenced. // Let the cookie dough thaw until it becomes malleable enough to thinly roll. // Students' minds are malleable and they need positive influences and guidance. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malleable) Examples: "She begins by sculpting with malleable French clays to create her figures, then she makes a mold." — Fina Badolato, The Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, 13 Feb. 2022 Did you know? Language is constantly evolving; the meanings, spellings, and pronunciations of words are reshaped over time. Take, for example, the Latin noun malleus, meaning "hammer." This word was adapted to create the Latin verb malleare, meaning "to hammer," which led eventually to the English adjective malleable. Malleable originally meant "capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer," and over time adopted the broader sense "capable of being shaped, altered, or controlled." If you guessed that [maul](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maul) and [mallet](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mallet), other English words for specific types of hammers, are also modeled from malleus, you have hit the nail on the head.