amiable
adjective
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The Roots of Amiable Go Back to Love
Amiable has its roots in amīcus the Latin word for "friend," and can ultimately be traced back to the verb amare, meaning "to love." English has been friendly with amiable since the 14th century, at which time it meant "pleasing" or "admirable" (a sense that is now obsolete). The current, familiar senses of "generally agreeable" 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"). And that’s just the tip of the amare iceberg: its influence on Romance languages is nothing short of integral. The Spanish word for "friendship" is amistad, the French word for "friend" is ami, and the Italian word for "love"? That’s amore.
Examples of amiable in a Sentence
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.
Daniel Kolitz, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The Half Moon Bay weigh-off began in 1974, when the California town barely edged out Circleville, Ohio, in an amiable contest for the fictitious title of pumpkin capital of the world.
—Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
However, beneath the makeup, amiable veneer and his seemingly normal brickfront home lurked unbelievable darkness — and a putrid odor that ultimately did him in.
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
The rest have all tried to appear universally amiable.
—Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for amiable
Cite this Entry
“Amiable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amiable. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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amiable
adjective
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