Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 27, 2024 is: docile \DAH-sul\ adjective

Docile is used to describe those who are easily taught, led, or managed.

// Though the professor feared a rowdy incoming class, he found that his new students were docile and eager to learn.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/docile)

Examples:

"An homage to David Cronenberg's 2005 film 'A History of Violence,' 'Leo' released on Oct. 19. The action-thriller follows a docile cafe owner (Vijay) who is incited to return to his violent past." — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023

Did you know?

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](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/render) Ben Jonson, for example, in a 17th-century translation of the Roman poet [Horace](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Horace-Roman-poet). Docile comes from the Latin verb docēre, which means "to teach." Other descendants of docēre include [doctrine](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doctrine) (which can mean "something that is taught"), [document](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/document) (an early meaning of which was "instruction"), and [doctor](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doctor) and [docent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/docent) (both of which can refer to teachers).