Amicable comes from Latin amīcābilis, meaning "friendly," and amāre, "to feel affection for" or "to love." Amāre has a number of English descendants, including amiable ("friendly, sociable, and congenial"), amorous ("strongly moved by love and especially sexual love"), and amateur, which, though it might seem surprising, is related to amāre by way of the Latin amātor, which means "lover" as well as "enthusiastic admirer" and "devotee."
amicable implies a state of peace and a desire on the part of the parties not to quarrel.
maintained amicable relations
neighborly implies a disposition to live on good terms with others and to be helpful on principle.
neighborly concern
friendly stresses cordiality and often warmth or intimacy of personal relations.
sought friendly advice
Examples of amicable in a Sentence
About a million couples divorce each year in the United States, and most, like my ex and me, start out striving to keep the split amicable. And though you may have good intentions, things can go awry during the traditional I-win-you-lose adversarial process.—Annie Finnigan, Family Circle, 17 Oct. 2008Instead, with the help of a neighborhood activist, Rob struck out in another direction. He retook his old turf from the dealers who had replaced him and opened a fruit stand and, later, a hot-dog concession. Bright, amicable and assured, Rob so impressed Anderson that the sociologist hired him as a part-time assistant.—Ellis Cose, Newsweek, 30 Aug. 1999Cops such as William Anderson and Lowell Powell had been Sonny's friends. "I was a policeman and he was something of a thug," Powell recalled, but nonetheless their dealings were amicable. In the big picture, however, there was no love lost between Sonny and the cops.—Nick Tosches, Vanity Fair, February 1998
They reached an amicable agreement.
the contract negotiations between the hotel workers and management were reasonably amicable
Recent Examples on the WebThe split is amicable, individuals familiar with the company said, and the men feel more comfortable moving forward with their own distinct visions.—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in September 2018, Ashlee and Evan opened up about their blended family and amicable co-parenting relationship with Wentz.—Ariana Quihuiz, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024 Kraft and Belichick made separate statements during a 10-minute press conference that stressed the mutual, amicable nature of their split.—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 11 Jan. 2024 In a May 1996 interview with Entertainment Weekly, David said the split was amicable for everyone involved.—Ariana Quihuiz, Peoplemag, 24 Feb. 2024 The parting of ways is said to be due to a difference in vision and to be amicable.—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Feb. 2024 Yes, there are ways to break up that are kind and that are amicable and that recognize that people have come to a crossroads, where both people wish each other well.—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 6 Feb. 2024 Kim Kardashian and Ye had gotten together for this rare amicable dinner for North, who was accompanied by several of her friends.—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 1 Feb. 2024 Clownfish living in sea anemones aren’t as amicable as Pixar’s Finding Nemo might suggest.—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'amicable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Late Latin amīcābilis "friendly" — more at amiable
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