personable
Americanadjective
-
having an agreeable or pleasing personality; affable; amiable; sociable.
-
of pleasing personal appearance; handsome or comely; attractive.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of personable
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at person, -able
Explanation
If you're personable, you're friendly and get along well with other people. Being personable is part of what makes you the star of the sales team — people just seem to like you. Someone who's personable can be outgoing, charming, nice, bubbly, amiable, pleasing, or generous, but he doesn’t have to be all of those things — it just all needs to add up to being pleasant. You may be pleasant but not bubbly, and that’s personable. In fact, if you're too bubbly, you might stop being personable and become annoying, which is not personable.
Vocabulary lists containing personable
Real Nice!
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My Side of the Mountain
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Unit 2, Whole-Class & Small-Group Learning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Personable, athletic, a little silly sometimes, the Pittsburgh-area native with that big radiant smile, the square jaw, the thick head of wavy hair, could chat up anyone.
From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2022
Personable, hardworking and caring, Viggiano checked on local residents after Superstorm Sandy and helped plow an elderly neighbor’s driveway when it snowed, Eileen Santa Maria said.
From Washington Times • Mar. 20, 2015
Personable without being controversial, retiring but not anodyne, Denis was the perfect consort.
From Newsweek • Apr. 8, 2013
Personable, articulate, and with bulging muscles, he looks more like a Baywatch bodyguard than the outsider who would get sand kicked in his eyes.
From The Guardian • Jul. 26, 2011
Personable and approachable, Frank was not much older than we and mixed freely with students.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
