amiable
- 01 C1 Advanced
friendly and pleasant in a way that makes people like you.
having or displaying a friendly and pleasant manner; easy to like due to a kind disposition.
Simple“Our new neighbour seems like an amiable man who is always happy to chat.”
In context“Despite the high stakes of the negotiation, he remained amiable, ensuring that the atmosphere never became hostile or overly competitive.”
PitfallThe two countries reached an amiable agreement. The two countries reached an amicable agreement.Use 'amiable' for people's personalities. Use 'amicable' for situations, like agreements or divorces, that are settled without fighting.
Antonyms
“Trent – an amiable young father, still dithering over baby names – is the closest Lorentzen’s film has to a hero.”
From Middle English amyable, from Old French amiable, from Late Latin amīcābilis (“friendly”), from Latin amīcus (“friend”), from amō (“love”, verb). The meaning has been influenced by French amiable and Latin amābilis (“loveable”) (whence English aimable and amable). Doublet of amicable. Compare with amorous, amability.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.