First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
amiable
adjective ami·a·ble \ˈā-mē-ə-bəl\
: friendly and pleasant
Full Definition of AMIABLE
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
See amiable defined for English-language learners
See amiable defined for kids
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Examples of AMIABLE
- … 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
- 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
- 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
- Gianni Versace is an amiable smoothy with a light touch and a corona of gray hair. —Marie Brenner, Vanity Fair, January 1997
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Origin of AMIABLE
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin amicabilis friendly, from Latin amicus friend; akin to Latin amare to love
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
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>.
AMIABLE Defined for Kids
amiable
adjective ami·a·ble \ˈā-mē-ə-bəl\
Definition of AMIABLE for Kids
: having a friendly and pleasant manner
— ami·a·bly \-blē\ adverb <She greeted us amiably.>
Learn More About AMIABLE
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