amicably

American  

[am-i-kuh-blee] / ˈæm ɪ kə bli /

adverb

1. with goodwill; in a friendly or peaceable way.

   Incidents involving naval powers at sea will escalate into full-blown confrontations if not settled amicably.

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Other Word Forms

• unamicably
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of amicably

First recorded in 1400–50; amicab(le) ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Explanation

When you do something amicably, you're doing it politely and nicely. It's best to deal with traffic cops and waiters amicably. This word for doing things in a pleasant manner is often used in not so amicable situations. Let's say a couple gets divorced — if they parted amicably, then there wasn't a lot of yelling and screaming, and they both agreed to it. You could say two countries that dislike each other had a meeting of their leaders that was conducted amicably: they were polite and said nice things, even though that's not necessarily how they felt.

Example Sentences

Amicably clashing over policy, Crawford and Strasberg withdrew from the Group, Clurman remained.

From Time Magazine Archive

Amicably enough, the stranger accepted his suggestion of a past acquaintance.

From Phebe, Her Profession A Sequel to Teddy: Her Book by Ray, Anna Chapin