The Ruling on ‘Amiable’ vs. ‘Amicable’

comely is an adjective used to describe people who are friendly or sociable. It can also describe things with a pleasant quality. friendly otherwise is often used to describe civil or peaceful relationships or interactions. Your good neighbor is ‘likable’, but your interactions with him are ‘friendly’.

Although there are visible phonetic and orthographic differences, comely And friendly often confused in speaking and writing. One factor that can confuse people when using one with the other is that both imply friendliness in their own right. Although they have this similarity, these “friendly” adjectives are applied differently. One is used to suggest the friendliness shown by a person and the other is used to suggest the friendliness between people or groups. If you’re not sure which adjective to use in each case, read on. If you already know the words, read on to review but also consider this: do you know any general rules for using these words and which words break the rules?

Neighbors wave to each other from the window

Even if you mix them together, we’re sure they’ll be pretty good at it.

How to Use ‘Amiable’ and ‘Amicable’

comely synonym of adjective friendly, sociableAnd fitwords that are often applied to people of such nature or character, such as “lovable landlord/neighbor”. friendly is an adjective used to describe things that are characterized by friendly goodwill or peace (non-aggression), as in “friendly negotiations”, “a friendly discussion/agreement”. ” or “a friendly way of parting”. As a general rule, comely commonly used for people and friendly for things like relationships, interactions, or situations, and proof of use strongly supports this distinction.

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Examples of incorrect usage

When looking at the actual use of these adjectives, we sometimes come across instances where comely used when friendly called and vice versa. Take, for example, these quotes:

Likewise, someone can generally be a warm and friendly person, but involuntarily furrowed brows make them appear serious and unapproachable. — ForbesDecember 27, 2019

As opponents of the Democratic nod, Biden and Klobuchar maintain a dovish relationship as they compete with similar neutral messages. — Star Court (Minneapolis, Minnesota), May 6, 2020

Substituting the definitions of the words discussed in these examples, one can see how comely And friendly misused. Firstly, friendly means a modifier equivalent to warm (meaning “friendly” or “affectionate”) but the word is not synonymous or related; rather, it means “peaceful”, implying politeness or civility but not being friendly. comely is the recommended word choice.

In the second example, comely used to modify relationship; however, the relationship is between competitors, who show each other’s approval and support (goodwill) but have no apparent desire to be friends or friendliness. The relationship is friendly, not likable. According to the person/thing rule, the corresponding stronger phrases in the examples are “a person who is generally warm and gentle” and “maintains a friendly relationship when they compete.”

Exceptions to the Rule

Our advice to avoid abuse is to first follow the “rules” for use comely And friendly and, when in doubt, consult our dictionary. The rule works most of the time (dictionaries all the time) with one exception. comely can also describe pleasant, non-controversial, or kind things, such as “a nice movie”, “a nice conversation”, “a gentle personality” or “a smile”. smile kindly.” In this sense, it describes things that have pleasant qualities; on the contrary, things that are supposed to friendly tends to be unpleasant, as in “a friendly divorce.”

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Finally, one thing is for sure friendly describes an interaction or situation characterized by a feeling of approval and support or a desire not to argue but to resolve something peacefully. comely, for the most part, describes a person who is friendly but also has something pleasant or gratifying in some way. We leave you with the “rule” and its exceptions, along with this tip for deciding which word to use: if you need a word that suggests a “soft” nature or quality, comely is your choice; friendly is the “harder” of the two (a concept symbolized by its difficulty c). Besides, friendly synonymous with peacethere are also letters c.

Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn

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