equable
adjective
equa·ble
ˈe-kwə-bəl 
ˈē-
ˈē-
1
: marked by lack of variation or change : uniform
an equable distance apart
2
: marked by lack of noticeable, unpleasant, or extreme variation or inequality
an equable temperament
Did you know?
Equable usually describes either climate or personality. The word seems to be used less today than in decades past, maybe because the personality type is less admired than it used to be. A steady, calm, equable personality may not produce much excitement but usually makes for a good worker and a good parent, and maybe even a longer life. In the words of the poet Robert Service: "Avoid extremes: be moderate / In saving and in spending. / An equable and easy gait / Will win an easy ending".
Synonyms
Examples of equable in a Sentence
an area with an equable climate would be our first choice for a place in which to settle
Recent Examples on the Web
Wolcott is an equable type with cropped dark hair and a preference for business-casual attire, which in the Pacific Northwest qualifies as formal wear.
—
E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
The elves with which the casual viewer or reader is familiar may be noble, equable creatures.
—Jack Butler, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023
The climate of the Pala valley is delightfully balmy and equable.
—Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2023
Its colorful international cast of players and their equable manager, Carlo Ancelotti — returning after years to reverse the team’s fortunes — might easily have been invented in a Hollywood writers room.
—Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2023
Where Haldane was a volatile, disruptive and unpredictable force, doing both great work and some considerable damage, full of bracing insights but sometimes ethically purblind, Mr. Subramanian is just, equable, generous and reliable in all his judgments.
—Richard Davenport-Hines, WSJ, 21 Aug. 2020
The young world of aviation came away thinking that L.A. — with its basin of wide, flat places and equable weather — was indeed the place for aviation’s future.
—Patt Morrisoncolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2023
He was simply bowled over by the beauty and the energy of the place, the broad-mindedness, the equable weather, the dramatic geography.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2022
The equable-nerd manner that colleagues once noted in Alito deserted him soon after Barack Obama became President.
—Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2022
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E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
The elves with which the casual viewer or reader is familiar may be noble, equable creatures.
—Jack Butler, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023
The climate of the Pala valley is delightfully balmy and equable.
—Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2023
Its colorful international cast of players and their equable manager, Carlo Ancelotti — returning after years to reverse the team’s fortunes — might easily have been invented in a Hollywood writers room.
—Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2023
Where Haldane was a volatile, disruptive and unpredictable force, doing both great work and some considerable damage, full of bracing insights but sometimes ethically purblind, Mr. Subramanian is just, equable, generous and reliable in all his judgments.
—Richard Davenport-Hines, WSJ, 21 Aug. 2020
The young world of aviation came away thinking that L.A. — with its basin of wide, flat places and equable weather — was indeed the place for aviation’s future.
—Patt Morrisoncolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2023
He was simply bowled over by the beauty and the energy of the place, the broad-mindedness, the equable weather, the dramatic geography.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2022
The equable-nerd manner that colleagues once noted in Alito deserted him soon after Barack Obama became President.
—Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2022
Dictionary Entries Near equable
Cite this Entry
“Equable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equable. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
equable
adjective
equa·ble
ˈek-wə-bəl
ˈē-kwə-
ˈē-kwə-
: not varying or changing
especially
: free from extremes or sudden or harsh changes
an equable temper
an equable climate
equably
adverb
-blē
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