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Amicable comes from Latin amīcābilis, meaning "friendly," and amāre, "to feel affection for" or "to love." Amāre has a number of English descendants, including amiable ("friendly, sociable, and congenial"), amorous ("strongly moved by love and especially sexual love"), and amateur, which, though it might seem surprising, is related to amāre by way of the Latin amātor, which means "lover" as well as "enthusiastic admirer" and "devotee."
Synonyms
Examples of amicable in a Sentence
About a million couples divorce each year in the United States, and most, like my ex and me, start out striving to keep the split amicable. And though you may have good intentions, things can go awry during the traditional I-win-you-lose adversarial process.
—
Annie Finnigan, Family Circle, 17 Oct. 2008
Instead, with the help of a neighborhood activist, Rob struck out in another direction. He retook his old turf from the dealers who had replaced him and opened a fruit stand and, later, a hot-dog concession. Bright, amicable and assured, Rob so impressed Anderson that the sociologist hired him as a part-time assistant.
—Ellis Cose, Newsweek, 30 Aug. 1999
Cops such as William Anderson and Lowell Powell had been Sonny's friends. "I was a policeman and he was something of a thug," Powell recalled, but nonetheless their dealings were amicable. In the big picture, however, there was no love lost between Sonny and the cops.
—Nick Tosches, Vanity Fair, February 1998
They reached an amicable agreement.
the contract negotiations between the hotel workers and management were reasonably amicable
Annie Finnigan, Family Circle, 17 Oct. 2008
Instead, with the help of a neighborhood activist, Rob struck out in another direction. He retook his old turf from the dealers who had replaced him and opened a fruit stand and, later, a hot-dog concession. Bright, amicable and assured, Rob so impressed Anderson that the sociologist hired him as a part-time assistant.
—Ellis Cose, Newsweek, 30 Aug. 1999
Cops such as William Anderson and Lowell Powell had been Sonny's friends. "I was a policeman and he was something of a thug," Powell recalled, but nonetheless their dealings were amicable. In the big picture, however, there was no love lost between Sonny and the cops.
—Nick Tosches, Vanity Fair, February 1998
They reached an amicable agreement.
the contract negotiations between the hotel workers and management were reasonably amicable
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, who joined Gu at Wednesday’s conference, believed both Europe and China could come to an amicable agreement.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 3 Oct. 2024
While the exes were amicable at first, their co-parenting relationship grew acrimonious, Aletta said in the premiere episode of Scamanda.
—Jessica Sager, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024
Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky are amicable moving forward amid their separation, according to Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave.
—Lawrence Yee, People.com, 8 Oct. 2024
The two aimed to be amicable for the sake of their children, Kate told PEOPLE in 2016, however, after a long and difficult custody battle, Kate was granted primary custody of all eight children.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 12 Sep. 2024
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Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 3 Oct. 2024
While the exes were amicable at first, their co-parenting relationship grew acrimonious, Aletta said in the premiere episode of Scamanda.
—Jessica Sager, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024
Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky are amicable moving forward amid their separation, according to Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave.
—Lawrence Yee, People.com, 8 Oct. 2024
The two aimed to be amicable for the sake of their children, Kate told PEOPLE in 2016, however, after a long and difficult custody battle, Kate was granted primary custody of all eight children.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for amicable
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Dictionary Entries Near amicable
Cite this Entry
“Amicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amicable. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
amicable
adjective
am·i·ca·ble
ˈam-i-kə-bəl 
: showing kindness or goodwill : peaceable
neighbors maintaining amicable relations
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