amiable
Americanadjective
-
having or showing pleasant, good-natured personal qualities; affable.
an amiable disposition.
- Synonyms:
- gracious
- Antonyms:
- rude
-
friendly; sociable.
an amiable greeting; an amiable gathering.
- Synonyms:
- amicable
- Antonyms:
- hostile, unfriendly
-
agreeable; willing to accept the wishes, decisions, or suggestions of another or others.
-
Obsolete. lovable or lovely.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of amiable
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin amīcābilis amicable
Explanation
A friendly, pleasant person could be described as amiable. Airline flight attendants tend to be amiable. The people monitoring the school's cafeteria? Maybe not. An amiable person is good-natured and easy to get along with. Add one letter and you get amicable, a word with a common ancestor (Latin amicabilis) and a similar meaning. But while amiable refers to friendly people, amicable refers to friendly relations between them; two amiable people who no longer want to be married to one another might have an amicable divorce.
Vocabulary lists containing amiable
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
All You Need is Love: Amor and Phil
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
You know things are rough when @MagicJohnson, Twitter’s Most Amiable Account™, calls you out.
From Slate • Sep. 16, 2020
One of those submissions, a fictional piece called “The Amiable Fleas,” can be found in the new issue of The Strand Magazine, a literary quarterly based in Birmingham, Mich.
From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2019
Amiable pop-punky vocals come carefully wrapped in radiant guitars as warm and comforting as a fleece blanket in November, making their Freakout appearance a well-timed cultural import.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 15, 2018
Amiable and cooperative with the press, McCatty held a reporter at bay for two days before he consented to an interview.
From Washington Post • Jun. 7, 2015
Amiable rogues all three, the brothers were in truth much more skilled at deceit than they'd ever been at bloodletting.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
