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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."
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
The parting is said to be amicable, and Zolner’s role will not be filled.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 30 Apr. 2025
And, to be honest, her description of the breakup at that time sounded a lot more amicable than it’s been sounding lately.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 24 Apr. 2025
The band’s members are alive and well and still friendly with each other, but since its breakup, in 2011—in what must rank as the most amicable dissolution in the history of rock—a full-scale reunion has never been on the table.
—Michael Idov, Air Mail, 19 Apr. 2025
The stealth nature and structure of the agreement in addition to the comments made by Caesars and Icahn strongly indicate that this is a very amicable arrangement, and that Icahn is confident in management’s ability.
—Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2025
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Joe Otterson, Variety, 30 Apr. 2025
And, to be honest, her description of the breakup at that time sounded a lot more amicable than it’s been sounding lately.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 24 Apr. 2025
The band’s members are alive and well and still friendly with each other, but since its breakup, in 2011—in what must rank as the most amicable dissolution in the history of rock—a full-scale reunion has never been on the table.
—Michael Idov, Air Mail, 19 Apr. 2025
The stealth nature and structure of the agreement in addition to the comments made by Caesars and Icahn strongly indicate that this is a very amicable arrangement, and that Icahn is confident in management’s ability.
—Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for amicable
Cite this Entry
“Amicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amicable. Accessed 8 May. 2025.
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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