How to Use docile in a Sentence

docile

adjective
Definition of docilenext
Synonyms for docilenext
  • His students were docile and eager to learn.
  • Well, the large and docile creatures carry a lot of blood.
    — Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2023
  • Only the elderly and the very docile are left in the villages.
    — Alexia Fernández Campbell, Vox, 24 Oct. 2018
  • More than once, she's replied that the bees are very gentle and docile.
    — Lydia Wang, refinery29.com, 4 June 2021
  • These are not docile pets — and the ravenmaster bared the scars of nasty bites.
    — William Booth, The Seattle Times, 26 Oct. 2018
  • Join the gang, the rough and tough AI says to the polite and docile AI.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2022
  • Girls are supposed to be more docile and not as exploratory as boys.
    — Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 23 July 2019
  • What is stubborn and disciplined one day is too docile the next.
    — Evan Grant, Dallas News, 28 Apr. 2021
  • Some of the qualities that show pigs need to be successful are to obey commands and be docile.
    — Mayra Cruz, Houston Chronicle, 27 Jan. 2018
  • Frankly, Tiger’s crowds have become a lot more docile than the weather.
    — Marcus Hayes, Philly.com, 15 June 2018
  • The meatpackers have joined hands to funnel cheap, docile labor to these places.
    — NBC News, 10 Jan. 2020
  • Drive with a lackadaisical right foot and the crossover is docile and well-tempered.
    — Michael Harley, Robb Report, 27 July 2021
  • Early on, the mainstream press was docile in its coverage of the war on terror.
    — Simon Van Zuylen-Wood, Daily Intelligencer, 21 Jan. 2018
  • Cradduck stressed that longhorns in general are smart and docile.
    — René A. Guzman, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Feb. 2021
  • Sheep—docile, ravenous and just the right height—easily smoked the field.
    — Amrith Ramkumar, WSJ, 5 Sep. 2022
  • There were reports that she had been jailed inside the Zabeel Palace and kept docile with drugs.
    — Joshua Hammer, Town & Country, 4 Jan. 2022
  • Esther eats and becomes more docile and keeps her tongue, much to the chagrin of the other Aunts.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 June 2021
  • The stowaway swarm had snaked its way across the water to freedom—only to roost in one corner of the table in a docile clump.
    — Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 June 2021
  • This spray should only be used as a deterrent to an aggressive bear and should not be used to harm docile wildlife.
    — Meg Carney, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2023
  • The trainers own three brown bears but only one, Mischa, is docile enough for shows.
    — Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2019
  • And the whale shark is a docile scoop feeder, honestly closer to a baleen whale than our mental image of a scary shark.
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 18 Aug. 2023
  • These docile bugs are remarkably domestic, preferring to spend most of their time in the same patch of soil.
    — Rachel Van Nes, The New Yorker, 12 Feb. 2020
  • This print shows a bison crossing the road, in that carefree kind of way only a giant (and docile) beast of the west can.
    — Mark Stock, Men's Health, 11 Nov. 2022
  • Will Speaker Nancy Pelosi now herd them across it like a docile flock of lambs?
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 31 July 2022
  • Shelter officials say Maxwell is a sweet and docile boy.
    — Rebecca Hennes, Houston Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2020
  • In the front seat Vierheller holds the docile boy friend of his discontent passenger.
    — Glen Barber, The Denver Post, 9 June 2017
  • In the near future, the Ilori aliens take over Earth and outlaw all art in order to keep humans docile.
    — Hanif Abdurraqib, BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2022
  • There are also large puppets which amaze, such as a running horse and a docile jaguar drinking from an oasis.
    — Philip Potempa, Post-Tribune, 25 July 2017
  • The tiny toy people with detachable legs, torsos and heads were once simple, with docile smiles and two dots for eyes.
    — Telis Demos, WSJ, 24 Oct. 2022
  • Bull rays are mostly docile creatures, but their stinging spine is venomous.
    — New York Times, 25 Nov. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'docile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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