Meaning & use
flexible approach
Last updated
Meanings
phrasecountable
A way of dealing with something that can be changed easily when conditions change.
Grammar: Countable: say a flexible approach or flexible approaches; it often takes to plus a noun: a flexible approach to teaching.
Patterns
- a flexible approach to something
- take a flexible approach
- adopt a flexible approach to something
- a more flexible approach
The manager took a flexible approach to working hours, letting staff start early or late.
Teachers need a flexible approach to lesson planning because classes move at different speeds.
We adopted a more flexible approach to the budget after costs kept changing.
phrasecountable
A method of doing something that accepts different opinions or methods rather than one fixed rule.
Grammar: Often used with to when you name the activity or group involved: a flexible approach to discipline.
Patterns
- a flexible approach to something
- a flexible approach toward something
Her flexible approach to the rules surprised the new employees.
The school is known for its flexible approach toward students who learn differently.
Word forms
| plural | flexible approaches |
|---|
Common combinations
- take a flexible approach
- Small firms often take a flexible approach to hiring.
- adopt a flexible approach
- The council adopted a flexible approach to parking permits.
- a flexible approach to something
- She has a flexible approach to problem solving.
- a more flexible approach
- Parents asked for a more flexible approach to homework deadlines.
- a flexible approach to learning
- Online courses allow a flexible approach to learning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- adaptable method
- Sounds more technical and is used mostly in writing about systems or plans, not people's habits.
- open-minded attitude
- Focuses on willingness to accept new ideas, while a flexible approach focuses on the method itself.
Opposites
Word family
- flexibility noun
- The quality of being able to change or bend.
- flexibly adverb
- In a way that can change to suit the situation.
Commonly confused: flexible approach or flexible working?
flexible approach vs flexible working
A fixed phrase about hours and locations of a job; a flexible approach is any adaptable method, not only about work.
Practice
The team agreed to take a flexible approach ___ the new schedule.
Choose one answer.
'Approach' normally takes 'to' before the thing you are dealing with: an approach to something. 'For' would suggest the approach is a gift or benefit for the schedule, which makes no sense here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flexible approach”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.