amiable
About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.


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

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

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>.

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: amianthine
Previous Word in the Dictionary: Amia (NL, fr. Gk, a tunny)
All Words Near: amiable

Seen & Heard

What made you want to look up amiable? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Name That Thing

Take Our 10-Question Quiz

Get Our Free Apps
Voice Search, Favorites,
Word of the Day, and More
Join Us on FB & Twitter
Get the Word of the Day and More