friendly
adjective
characteristic of or befitting a friend; showing friendship.
friendly
American
[frend-lee]
/ ˈfrɛnd li /
adjective
-
friendlier,
comparative
-
friendliest
superlative
-
characteristic of or befitting a friend; showing friendship.
a friendly greeting.
- Synonyms:
- neighborly, companionable
-
like a friend; kind; helpful.
a little friendly advice.
- Synonyms:
- cordial, amiable, kindly, kindhearted, affectionate, genial
-
favorably disposed; inclined to approve, help, or support.
a friendly bank.
- Synonyms:
- propitious, sympathetic, favorable, helpful, well-disposed, benevolent
- Antonyms:
- antagonistic
-
not hostile or at variance; amicable.
a friendly warship;
friendly natives.
-
easy to use, operate, understand, etc. (usually used in combination).
a consumer-friendly instruction manual;
a friendly food processor.
-
able to coexist with something without harm or trouble (usually used in combination).
environmentally friendly building materials;
a child-friendly restaurant.
adverb
noun
-
friendlies
plural
friendly
1
British
/ ˈfrɛndlɪ /
adjective
-
showing or expressing liking, goodwill, or trust
a friendly smile
-
on the same side; not hostile
-
tending or disposed to help or support; favourable
a friendly breeze helped them escape
noun
-friendly
2
British
combining form
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of friendly
Explanation
Friendly, describes people who are kind, caring, and make you feel comfortable. You might be new to town, but the people are so friendly that you'll soon feel right at home. The noun friend is at the root of the adjective friendly. When you're friendly, you treat everyone like a friend — with warmth and respect. A friendly game of badminton is by definition not too serious or competitive, and a vegetarian-friendly menu makes non meat-eaters feel welcome, just as user-friendly instructions make it easy for non-professionals to follow the directions.
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.
See Examples For:
Family friendly with live music, food trucks, art gallery, workshops, community altar & more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
He also produced some impressive individual displays for England, even though the Three Lions missed out on that summer's World Cup, scoring against Brazil in a friendly and twice against Denmark in September.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
For one, it meant the company’s capital allocation has been less shareholder friendly, notes Alexander Jones, equity analyst at BofA Global Research.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
What’s different is that the new middleman looks less like a booking website than a friendly, knowledgeable travel adviser.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Alex greets us when we reach the training room, and he’s tall and handsome and friendly.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
“Google fans seem to eat this kumbaya stuff up, to really believe it,” wrote John Gruber, a blogger who runs the -friendly site Daring Fireball.
From Forbes ● May 16, 2013
There are lines, -friendly soundbites and poetry, and then there is John Cooper Clarke.
From The Guardian ● May 3, 2013
"African football associations accept these deals because everything is taken care of. It saves them having to find opponents and organise friendlies," explained an expert on African football who asked not to be named.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Whilst there is no standard practice for organising international professional friendlies, smaller African teams generally rely on agencies to manage their away fixtures and don't necessarily make any profit from the games.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The lengthy 16-day session will feature friendlies against Peru and Chile in September and against Mexico and Canada during the first week of October.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Lewis-Skelly has been one of the standout performers during pre-season and has started the past two friendlies as the Gunners prepare for the Community Shield against Manchester City on Sunday.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
“There are no friendlies ahead of us,” the platoon leader reported.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Growth-stock valuations would get a friendlier discount rate.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Working with friendlier governments, the U.S. has expanded its capacity to reach high-priority targets in far-flung corners of the region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Indeed, United did not have a shot on target until the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time, substitute Simi Awujo's goal giving the scoreline a friendlier look.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Here the surroundings are less bleak, the library better, the prisoners friendlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Maybe, flying around all day, it had found a friendlier window, one that didn’t make it wait so long.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
The friendliest U.S. cities, according to World Cup tourists.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
In another video played to the court, Warren told police his XL Bullies, one of which he bought on Gumtree, were "the friendliest dogs I know" and said poodles were "more aggressive".
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026
In the end, Elmer the patchwork elephant seemed the friendliest, least controversial decision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
Your executive producer on "Watson" said that it would be fun to cast the friendliest man in the world in this role.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2025
They were both unhappy with their room-mates and decided to share rooms together, which they did in the friendliest way for the next 20 years.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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