affability

Rarely af·fa·ble·ness

[af-uh-bil-i-tee]

noun

1. the quality of being pleasantly easy to approach and talk to; friendliness or warm politeness.

   Her affability and good nature endear her to all those acquainted with her, and put at ease anyone meeting her for the first time.

Other Word Forms

• unaffableness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of affability¹

First recorded in 1450–1500; from Middle French affabilité, from Latin affābilitāt-, stem of affābilitās, equivalent to affābil(is) “that can be spoken to, courteous” ( affable ( def. ) ) + -itās -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

Gary was a lawyer whose affability never offended off the court, but on the court I found him pushy.

From Los Angeles Times

"There is an affability about him, but he's also not afraid of stirring the pot. He's very authentic and has a big personality without necessarily dominating the space."

From BBC

She's one of pop's most poised stars, choosing her words carefully and brushing away personal questions with a practised affability.

From BBC

There was a playfulness and affability that was lacking this year, and was instead replaced by tension, haughtiness, indifference and downright rudeness — a sentiment that I heard from multiple camp mates, both old and new.

From Los Angeles Times

And Johnson, who devotes “two to four hours a week” to his project, has just the right mix of passion and affability to nudge labels in the right direction.

From BBC