amenable

American  

[uh-mee-nuh-buhl, uh-men-uh-] / əˈmi nə bəl, əˈmɛn ə- /

adjective

1. ready or willing to answer, act, agree, or yield; open to influence, persuasion, or advice; agreeable; submissive; tractable.

   an amenable servant.

   Synonyms:

   easy, docile, manageable

   Antonyms:

   recalcitrant, stubborn

2. liable to be called to account; answerable; legally responsible.

   You are amenable for this debt.

3. capable of or agreeable to being tested, tried, analyzed, etc.

   Synonyms:

   responsible, accountable

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amenable British  

/ əˈmiːnəbəl /

adjective

1. open or susceptible to suggestion; likely to listen, cooperate, etc

2. accountable for behaviour to some authority; answerable

3. capable of being or liable to be tested, judged, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• amenableness
  noun
• amenably
  adverb
• amenability
  noun
• nonamenability
  noun
• unamenable
  adjective
• unamenably
  adverb
• nonamenably
  adverb
• nonamenable
  adjective
• nonamenableness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of amenable

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French amen(er) “to lead to” ( a- a- ⁵ + mener, from Late Latin mināre “to push, impel,” from Latin minārī “to threaten”) + -able -able

Explanation

If your friends want to try sky diving and you're amenable to the idea, sounds like you're going to be jumping out of a plane. If a person or thing is amenable to something, they are ready, willing, or responsive. Note that amenable is often followed by the preposition to, which makes amenable mean "able to be controlled or affected by something," as in: "They are usually amenable to our wishes" or "Her heart condition is not amenable to treatment." An amenable personality is open to influence or control and is willing to agree or yield.

Related Words

• agreeable
• responsive
• susceptible