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
"Together, we must foil all schemes to disrupt or undermine our bonds of amity and trust," Xi wrote in a signed article for Russian media.
From BBC ● May 9, 2025
It comes days after Ukraine’s foreign minister was invited to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cambodia, where it became the latest signatory to the group’s treaty of amity and cooperation.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2022
He lamented the fading of such cross-party amity.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 11, 2021
“Mutual understanding, leading to amity and good relations.”
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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
The shark, as a threat, is foreign, is ultimately conquerable, and can be left in the past without requiring any self-reflection from the residents of Amity Island.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2024
"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
This is not the same kind of horror that terrorized the fictional East Coast town of Amity Island in the terrifying movie thriller “Jaws.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2023
I remember the thought I had, after Johanna told me about the Amity administering the memory serum to Dauntless patrols—that when you take a person’s memories, you change who they are.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
