companionable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of companionable
1350–1400; Middle English. See companion 1, -able
Explanation
Someone who's companionable is close and friendly. A companionable dog stays right by your side, a loyal pal. It's fun to talk to a companionable person — they tend to be warm and good-natured. And our best relationships are the ones that are the most companionable: your grandparents might say the secret of a long, happy marriage is to make it a companionable one. A companionable silence is comfortable and relaxed. The word stems from the Old French compagnon, "fellow, mate, friend, or partner."
Vocabulary lists containing companionable
Tuck Everlasting
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Kindred
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The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
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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.
We had Zoom sessions where everyone kept their camera on, but nobody talked, just wrote in companionable silence.
From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026
By contrast, “Shadow Ticket” offers a wildly seductive overture, a companionable but occasionally slack midsection, and a haunting sucker punch of an ending.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025
It's punctuated by stretches of companionable silence, where Young drums on his knees, or interacts with his son Ben, who was born with severe cerebral palsy.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2025
But his personal life is all charm: living in the picture-perfect small town of Three Pines, Quebec, with his companionable wife, Reine-Marie, and an assortment of delightful neighbors and friends.
From Seattle Times • May 10, 2023
She shook her head at Angela, and for the first time it was almost in a companionable way, as if to say, At least you know there’s a plane there!
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
