sociable
/ˈsəʊʃəb(ə)l
/adjective
1Willing to talk and engage in activities with other people; friendly: being a sociable person, Eva loved entertaining...
- He described his mother as a friendly, active and sociable woman who had recovered from the death of her husband.
- Michelle was once very sociable, but friends have fallen away because she is constantly exhausted.
- Blue, 41, was a sociable type, with a close circle of friends, many of whom were professionals: accountants, lawyers and businessmen he got to know as he sold them cars over the years.
Synonyms
friendly, affable, amicable, cordial, neighbourly, hospitable, companionable, gregarious, convivial, clubbable;
warm, warm-hearted, good-natured, genial, easy to get on/along with, lively;
communicative, responsive, forthcoming, open, outgoing, extrovert, easy-going, easy, hail-fellow-well-met, approachable, accessible
informal chummy, clubby
British informal matey
North American informal regular
rare conversable
1.1(Of a place, occasion, or activity) characterized by friendliness or social interaction: a very sociable little village...
- There are 150 affiliated athletics and running clubs in Scotland, and while some are geared to serious athletes, most are friendly, open and sociable places to start training.
- Netley on New Year's Eve is quite a functional, sociable place.
- Whisky tastings can be fun and sociable occasions.
noun
1 historical An open carriage with facing side seats.He commissioned a "sociable" which was bright yellow in colour and built like a motor coach without an engine....
- John Rickman and his daughters drove in from Wellingham in an old fashioned family carriage called a sociable which opened at the back like an omnibus.
1.1A tricycle with two seats side by side.On the way to the restaurant we passed a bike shop with a sociable, a side by side tandem, if you will, in the window....
- Two-seat, recumbent 'sociables', as their name implies, make cycling a pleasure shared.
- I was riding in a charity ride a couple years ago and came along a couple who were riding a sociable, which is not a true tandem (since the riders are alongside one another, not one in front of the other), I suppose, but which was cool nonetheless.
1.2chiefly British An S-shaped couch for two people who sit partially facing each other.
2US dated An informal social gathering: a church sociable...
- The play moves from Fourth of July celebrations to an Ice Cream Sociable.
- They spoke of every-day things, of the prospect of snow, of the next church sociable, of the loves and quarrels of Starkfield.
Derivatives
sociableness
- The birth atmosphere in the environment of the mother-to-be and the newly born should radiate with sociableness and comfort and human warmth.
- By its deepest nature, education is a peaceful approach, and only in peace it can develop intelligence, sociableness and love to their highest levels.
- It identifies some personality traits common to successful women entrepreneurs that include the ability to take risks, creativity, extroversion and openness, optimism and sociableness.
sociably
/ adverb ...- Children and young people will start to function sociably when adults start treating them with respect by giving them quality time, clean air to breathe. wholesome food to eat and space in which to play safely.
- How do babies learn to speak, to behave sociably, to walk and run and all the rest of it?
- Skyrac has a reputation for being a competitive club but many of its members just enjoy running sociably with others on a couple of evenings a week.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from French, or from Latin sociabilis, from sociare 'unite', from socius 'companion'.