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amiable

adjective

ami·​a·​ble ˈā-mē-ə-bəl How to pronounce amiable (audio)
1
a
: friendly, sociable, and congenial
an amiable host
amiable neighbors
b
: generally agreeable
an amiable comedy
2
archaic : pleasing, admirable
amiability
ˌā-mē-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē How to pronounce amiable (audio)
noun
amiableness
ˈā-mē-ə-bəl-nəs How to pronounce amiable (audio)
noun
amiably
ˈā-mē-ə-blē How to pronounce amiable (audio)
adverb

Did you know?

The Roots of Amiable Go Back to Love

Amiable derives from the Late Latin adjective amicabilis, meaning "friendly," which in turn comes from the Latin word for "friend" and can ultimately be traced back to amare, meaning "to love." When amiable was adopted into English in the 14th century, it meant "pleasing" or "admirable," but that sense is now obsolete. The current, familiar senses of "generally agreeable" ("an amiable movie") and "friendly and sociable" came centuries later. Amare has also given English speakers such words as amative and amorous (both meaning "strongly moved by love"), amour ("a usually illicit love affair"), and even amateur (which originally meant "admirer").

Synonyms

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Example Sentences

… 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 Everyone knew him as an amiable fellow. She had an amiable conversation with her friend. See More
Recent Examples on the Web Paul Sorvino, the imposing and amiable actor best known for his role in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas, died Monday morning of natural causes with his wife, Dee Dee Sorvino, at his side. Nick Romano, EW.com, 25 July 2022 Yet Saget is so good-natured, so amiable, even the nastiest bestiality reference comes across as oddly sweet. Rodney Ho, ajc, 10 Jan. 2022 That means the handsome, powerful but amiable pointers can now go for best in show at many U.S. dog shows, including the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club event next year. Jennifer Peltz, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2022 At the surface level, the conversation is relatively safe and amiable, while the topic is still very generic and points directionally at something without yet achieving clarity and identifying the specific issue. Thomas Lim, Forbes, 21 June 2022 Despite being the star of Stranger Things, one of the biggest TV shows in the world, and having more than 55 million Instagram followers, Millie seems amiable, open, and immediately likable. Emily Zemler, Allure, 11 Aug. 2022 Embedded in this lively, amiable, and inventive film is an immense sadness that has everything to do with those defining conditions. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2022 Fesperman, a former reporter on international affairs, narrates the book himself in an amiable, sandy voice that remains easy-paced and unruffled in even the most lethal circumstances. Katherine A. Powers, Washington Post, 29 July 2022 Democrat Michael Bennet, the state’s amiable U.S. senator, should be waltzing to reelection. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English amyable, borrowed from Anglo-French amiable, going back to Late Latin amīcābilis, from Latin amīcus "personal friend, lover, friend in public life, partisan" or amīcāre "to make friendly to oneself, propitiate" (derivative of amīcus) + -bilis "capable (of acting) or worthy (of being acted upon)"; Latin amīcus, noun derivative of amīcus, adjective, "friendly, well-disposed, loving, devoted," derivative of amāre "to feel affection for, love" — more at amateur, -able

Note: A predecessor *ama-ikos, from a stative verb *ama-ē-, is suggested by P. Schrijver (The Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Latin, Rodopi, 1991, p. 399), following a proposal by D. Steinbauer (Etymologische Untersuchungen zu den bei Plautus belegten Verben der lateinischen ersten Konjugation, Altendorf, 1989, pp. 131-32). This would seem to be supported by the inscriptional form ameicus (unless it is an inverted spelling) and the form amecus cited by the grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus. M. Weiss, on the other hand, proposes a "deinstrumental" origin from an adverbial base *amī- "with love," in Indo-European terms *h2m̥h3ih1- (see Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin, Ann Arbor, 2009, p. 296).

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of amiable was in the 14th century

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