affability

American  

[af-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌæf əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

Rarely affableness

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.

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Other Word Forms

• unaffableness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of affability

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” ( see affable ( def. )) + -itās -ity ( def. )

Explanation

Affability is the quality of being easy to talk to. If you walk into a party smiling and generally seeming up for whatever, your affability will draw people to you. Affability and intelligence will get you far in this world! To be affable is to be friendly and good-natured. The quality itself is called affability. Smiling and making jokes shows affability, and so does being friendly to strangers. Someone who tends to get along with everyone and has many friends has affability. In the Old French, it was affabilité, from the Latin root affabilis, for "approachable, courteous, or kind," and literally means "can be easily spoken to."

Example Sentences

I don’t know Justice Thomas, but all who do attest to the man’s cheerfulness and affability.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Richter, though, is widely beloved or at least enjoyed, whether that’s due to his consistent improvement or his association with late-night at a time when that genre is politically imperiled, or his “gosh golly” affability.

From Salon • Nov. 4, 2025

"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 • May 14, 2025

Those relationships, and Bylsma’s apparent affability, might have factored into the search.

From Seattle Times • May 28, 2024

Both his affability and his harshness compelled others as they did me; and he hath been admitted into a great variety of circles of friendship and amity that remain generally closed.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson