amiable

ami·a·ble

adjective \ˈā-mē-ə-bəl\

Definition of AMIABLE

1

archaic : pleasing, admirable

2

a : generally agreeable <an amiable comedy>

b : being friendly, sociable, and congenial

— ami·a·bil·i·ty \ˌā-mē-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

— ami·a·ble·ness \ˈā-mē-ə-bəl-nəs\ noun

— ami·a·bly \-blē\ adverb

Examples of AMIABLE

1. Everyone knew him as an amiable fellow.
2. She had an amiable conversation with her friend.
3. … an amiable man, a gray-headed, fiftyish, good old boy with a long career in media and public relations, and a hellish taste for margaritas … —Denis Johnson, Rolling Stone, 17 Aug. 2000
4. These strained plot contortions aren't really necessary: the funny, amiable heart of the movie is in the scenes of these tough old duffers scamming their way through the training program. —David Ansen, Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2000
5. The book pivots around Molly Bonner, an amiable, 40-ish woman whose second husband has just died in a helicopter accident, leaving her grief-struck and rich. —Tad Friend, Vogue, March 1997
6. Gianni Versace is an amiable smoothy with a light touch and a corona of gray hair. —Marie Brenner, Vanity Fair, January 1997

Origin of AMIABLE

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin amicabilis friendly, from Latin amicus friend; akin to Latin amare to love

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to AMIABLE

Synonyms

affable, agreeable, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, mellow, nice, pleasant, sweet, well-disposed

Antonyms

disagreeable, ill-natured, ill-tempered, unamiable, ungenial, ungracious, unpleasant

Related Words

amicable, clever [dialect], cordial, friendly, neighborly; benign, gentle, kind; cheerful, cheery, glad [archaic], sunny; companionable, conversable, sociable; civil, considerate, courteous, polite, thoughtful; accommodating, amenable, obliging; attractive, delightful, enjoyable, likable (or likeable)

Near Antonyms

boorish, discourteous, ill-mannered, impolite, inconsiderate, rude, surly, uncivil, unkind, unmannerly, unsociable; bearish, bilious, cantankerous, choleric, churlish, crabby, cranky, dyspeptic, fussy, grouchy, grumpy, ill-humored, irascible, irritable, peevish, petulant, quick-tempered, snappish, testy, touchy; argumentative, contentious, contrary, ornery, querulous; unappealing, unattractive; sour, vinegary

Synonym Discussion of AMIABLE

amiable, good-natured, obliging, complaisant mean having the desire or disposition to please. amiable implies having qualities that make one liked and easy to deal with <an amiable teacher not easily annoyed>. good-natured implies cheerfulness or helpfulness and sometimes a willingness to be imposed upon <a good-natured girl who was always willing to pitch in>. obliging stresses a friendly readiness to be helpful <our obliging innkeeper found us a bigger room>. complaisant often implies passivity or a yielding to others because of weakness <was too complaisant to protest a decision he thought unfair>.