friendly
adjective
characteristic of or befitting a friend; showing friendship.
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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:
Usually Nash, their friendly golden retriever, jumps and barks at new visitors, Rowley said, but once they get inside, “he just thinks it’s time to play.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
He also teased the friendly competition between him and his partner, actress Keri Russell, who was up for an Emmy for her role in The Diplomat this year.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
In a statement, Kremlev’s press office said, “Mr. Kremlev and Mr. Trump Jr have a friendly relationship” and they first met “a couple of years ago.”
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
“They want a friendly face,” Curtis said of the chain’s new restaurants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
They had large, intelligent eyes and rounded muzzles that reminded me of friendly dogs.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
“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
He has impressed in all four of Spurs' friendlies so far.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Sporting director Richard Hughes was at the friendlies in Nashville and New York but not at the game on Sunday.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 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
Pereira had already planned pre-season in Portugal and Forest were due to play friendlies against Blackburn, Vitoria Guimaraes, Sporting Lisbon, Leverkusen, Barcelona and Udinese over the summer.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
I got excited every time, hoping that we’d run into some friendlies, maybe even someone we knew from before.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
“That doesn’t make a home within reach for everyone, but, for people who can afford to buy now, it’s a much friendlier market than it was a few years ago.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Indeed, United did not have a shot on target until the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time, substitute Simi Awujo's goal giving the scoreline a friendlier look.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Infosys created its yeti—partly generated by AI—to put a friendlier face on its artificial-intelligence consulting services, according to Sumit Virmani, executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Coastal desalination plants discharge ultra salty brine waste that can harm marine life, but the undersea pods release a less concentrated brine, which the company says is friendlier to the ecosystem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
“Try to be friendlier to these women. Don’t interrupt when someone is giving you instructions.”
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
The friendliest U.S. cities, according to World Cup tourists.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
"I'm telling you it's a shame what everyone thinks about them and everything, man, because they are one of the friendliest dogs that I know."
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
Now it’s Alcaraz who has closed the gap, on Sinner’s friendliest terrain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2025
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
"Rosalie was an exceptional child. The friendliest, lovingest . . Turtle crumpled the newspaper. "Let's go.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
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.
