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Did you know?
The Gender of an affable Personality?
One of the peculiarities of the English language is that ungendered words (especially nouns) may occasionally take gendered pronouns or modifiers. A ship, for example, is often called "she." We also find that some general-purpose words (especially adjectives) tend to be used of one sex rather than the other. Such is the case with affable, which our records show is far more likely to be used to describe a man than a woman. This should not be taken as evidence that men are friendlier or easier to speak with (nor should you shy away from describing a woman as affable), but it does serve to illustrate the manner in which the word is often used.
Synonyms
Examples of affable in a Sentence
Lev Grossman, Time, 7 Feb. 2005
In repose, he can be affable and quite funny. But woe betide anyone who crosses him or who fails to perform to his demanding standards.
—Anthony Bianco et al., Business Week, 9 Sept. 2002
The owner emerged from a galley kitchen … to explain that the restaurant was supposed to be closed. This roly-poly man with graying locks above a noble, high forehead was affable and articulate, not your average short-order cook.
—John Krich, San Francisco Examiner, 21 Aug. 1994
a lively, affable young fellow
as the show's affable host, she keeps the freewheeling gabfest from getting out of hand
Alissa Simon, Variety, 19 Nov. 2024
As with Taylor Lautner in the second Twilight movie, our affable friend across the pond turned out to be hiding eight-pack abs.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 18 Nov. 2024
Tim is an affable ol’ cuss, speaking constantly in soft and firm rhymes, showing off his vocal dexterity to the barflies who pull up chairs and sip on pints or some top shelf whiskey in a Massachusetts watering hole.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
His subjects articulate the dead-eyed fear and deep confusion many of them can not shake about what happened to them that day; the emotional spectrum of these young Israelis stretches from shell-shocked to rage-filled to affable to ashamed.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for affable 
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Dictionary Entries Near affable
Cite this Entry
“Affable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affable. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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affable
adjective
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