amity
noun
friendship; peaceful harmony.
amity
1 American
[am-i-tee]
/ ˈæm ɪ ti /
noun
-
friendship; peaceful harmony.
-
mutual understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations; peace; accord.
Amity
2
American
[am-i-tee]
/ ˈæm ɪ ti /
noun
amity
British
/ ˈæmɪtɪ /
noun
Etymology
Origin of amity
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English amit(i)e, from Middle French amitie, Old French amiste(t), from unattested Vulgar Latin amicitāt-, stem of amīcitās, derivative of Latin amīcus; see ami, amiable, -ity
Explanation
The word amity refers to a peaceful, friendly nature, much like the French word ami, or "friend." From the Latin amicus, "friend," amity means "friendly relations." That strong sense of friendship lends irony to the name of the book, and later the movie, called The Amityville Horror, about a horrifying town with a weirdly cheerful name. In truth, though, amity means "mutual understanding and peace." Wouldn't it be nice if all of the world's nations lived in amity?
Vocabulary lists containing amity
All You Need is Love: Amor and Phil
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
More amity in Abu Dhabi is planned for Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
There is a hope for a return to the amity seen at the 2021 COP meeting, where they announced a surprise joint agreement to accelerate emissions reductions.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2023
Wickremesinghe has since cracked down on protests and sought amity among political parties, saying only an all-party government can solve the country’s problems.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2022
As in the original, they vacillate between amity, disdain and physical outbursts in the same episode.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2021
They spake together, and they made a solemn pact that they should not annihilate each other in phrenzy of self-interest, but live in that place in amity; and thus was founded the city of Thebes.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
On this date in 1778, the U.S. and France signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
He was a foster kid, he told me, who had been plucked from the system by the founder of Amity, a woman who had been incarcerated herself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2023
"No one wants a shark attack to occur, but these bans are just creating the same fear as generated on the ill-fated Amity Island in Jaws. It's just not the right way to go."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2023
In the case it took to the Hague-based International Court of Justice, Iran argued the asset freeze was a breach of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, which promised friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2023
Again I remember my mother stretching to pick an apple in this orchard, years ago when we came to help the Amity with the harvest.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
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.
