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AMIABLE
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I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Diffusing warmth and friendliness
Example:
a genial host
Synonyms:
affable; amiable; cordial; genial
Classified under:
Similar:
friendly (characteristic of or befitting a friend)
Derivation:
amiability (a disposition to be friendly and approachable (easy to talk to))
amiability (a cheerful and agreeable mood)
amity (a state of friendship and cordiality)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Disposed to please
Example:
an amiable villain with a cocky sidelong grin
Synonyms:
amiable; good-humored; good-humoured
Classified under:
Similar:
good-natured (having an easygoing and cheerful disposition)
Derivation:
amiability (a disposition to be friendly and approachable (easy to talk to))
amiability (a cheerful and agreeable mood)
amiableness (a disposition to be friendly and approachable (easy to talk to))
Context examples:
During all that period she appeared to me the most amiable and benevolent of human creatures.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
“I am sure of it, Mr. Scott Eccles—I am sure of it,” said Inspector Gregson in a very amiable tone.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Or at least, if she did not bring herself quite to rejoice in Edward's being fettered to Lucy, she determined, that had Lucy been more amiable, she OUGHT to have rejoiced.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
I admired the strength, comeliness, and speed of the inhabitants; and such a constellation of virtues, in such amiable persons, produced in me the highest veneration.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
The ominous figure galloped up once more alongside of our curricle, but this time his mission was a more amiable one.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Holmes had already wired to Forbes, and we found him waiting to receive us—a small, foxy man with a sharp but by no means amiable expression.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He is a most amiable, charming young man, I believe.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
It has never worn an amiable form to me.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
The amiable creature with the polished head told me a long story, which I think was about gardening.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
A formal apology will make him see how foolish he is, and bring him down quite amiable.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
