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:
The CEO of Zapier, Wade Foster, had a friendly competition among executives to do so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Everyone was extremely friendly and on the fashion front, no popped collars in sight — only gym clothes and cool-looking fencing gear: mask, chest protector and underarm protector.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Ellison’s father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is friendly with the Trump administration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
"It's like this whole second family you never knew you had, everyone is like a community, friendly, supportive of not only us but you guys and each other," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
The friendly chap from the newsstand sports an officer’s uniform from a couple of wars ago.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
“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
Under-18 players cannot complete international transfers, but the club argued that since Madjo was born in London he should be exempt - despite having three caps for Luxembourg in friendlies.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
While Lewis-Skelly has started and impressed in pre-season friendlies against Girona and Real Betis, and the player is focused on working hard for his opportunities for in the upcoming campaign.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
As recently as March, when the U.S. dropped a pair of friendlies to Belgium and Portugal, he lamented that his players weren’t bringing enough energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
He went on to play in five friendlies, earning the role of first-choice keeper heading into the World Cup, which began with a 4-1 defeat by co-hosts the United States.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Who are the friendlies ahead of us?” he asked.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Turkey is another large trading partner of Iran, according to ITC data, but it has a much friendlier relationship with the US than China.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
He also supports a friendlier approach to relations with Beijing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Here the surroundings are less bleak, the library better, the prisoners friendlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
The Kospi’s recovery this session, led by chip makers, shows that the AI bid is alive, but it is recovering from a heavy drawdown and still depends on a friendlier rates backdrop, the analyst notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
It feels friendlier here than in the city.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
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
So, using her friendliest voice, Roz said, “What would you like to eat, little darling?”
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
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.
