These words suggest a smooth working of parts, especially in reference to a well-conditioned physique. Supple suggests a body capable of effortless movement: Unlike swimming, weight-lifting does not result in a supple build. Used of physical objects, supple suggests that something can be bent without breaking or without becoming permanently distorted: supple branches trembling in the faint breeze. Used more abstractly, supple suggests something that is relaxed rather than taut, or something that is smoothly articulated: the rhythmically insistent yet always supple music; a keen supple mind able to make fine distinctions.

Lithe and limber , of the remaining words, are closet in meaning to supple . Lithe , in fact, is often used in tandem with supple : lithe and supple dancers. Lithe tends to suggest gracefulness and trimness of figure. Limber more specifically suggests a body brought into condition through training: Even naturally lithe and supple bodies need disciplined exercise to stay limber . While both lithe and limber are less often used of inanimate objects that can be bent, lithe is sometimes used, like supple , to describe character. Its special emphasis here is on an economic spareness: a lithe , understated style of writing.

Agile and resilient both stress quickness of response in addition to a smooth working of parts. Resilient specifically emphasizes a rapid rebounding into shape, agile an ability to move quickly yet gracefully: the resilient layer of pine needles under our feet; the agile leap of the doe. Both can refer also to qualities of mind. Here agile stresses the ability to think quickly without faltering: an agile facility for finding the significant pattern in a mass of data. Resilient suggests an innovating mind that is not bound by deadening routine or habit: a resilient hopefulness in the face of seemingly insoluble dilemmas.

Like agile , nimble points to quickness, but here the gracefulness of movement is less emphasized than lightness and dexterity: the nimble fingers of a pianist. Spry stresses unexpected quickness and is often used to describe an old person who is still agile in movement: a spry old man who is still able to play tennis.