affably

adverb

af·​fa·​bly ˈa-fə-blē How to pronounce affably (audio)
: in a friendly and affable manner
smiling affably
"Let me show you something," he said, affably, coming over and taking out of his pocket a little lithographed card which had been issued by a wholesale tobacco company.Theodore Dreiser
He has a knack for stating his case cogently and affably, making it sound eminently sensible.Daniel Sogg

Examples of affably in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Otherwise, the new episodes deliver plenty of the dynamics that worked so well in season 1: Gaby and Liz’s deepening friendship, based on truth-telling and making fun of Jimmy; Paul and Jimmy’s reason-versus-emotion antics; and Ted McGinley — as Liz’s affably Zen husband, Derek — with anybody. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 15 Oct. 2024 Father-and-son hosting duo Eugene and Dan Levy broke out their old Schitt’s Creek comic timing to oversee the ceremony with affably low-schtick aplomb. Constance Grady, Vox, 16 Sep. 2024 Ryan Gosling, whose comedic talents were criminally undervalued until last year’s runaway hit Barbie, gets to flex them again here, bringing his deadpan, affably dim charm to the role of Colt Seavers, a hot-shot stunt double for megawatt movie star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 June 2024 Bob and his boss, the affably gruff and gruffly affable Edsel Kellogg III (a pitch-perfect Jim Gaffigan), are not only feeling the toaster-pastry existential pressure, but are also dealing with labor unrest among disgruntled cereal mascots. Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 Reynolds, wildly miscast, tries valiantly to sound frivolously urbane rather than affably southern, and Shepherd delivers her numbers with none of her usual comic charm. Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 22 Jan. 2024 The first act, in which the tension’s building, is stronger than the second but this engaging cast from the National Theatre of Scotland ably and affably demonstrates how theater can take you to other worlds without leaving your seat. Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2023 DeSantis, by contrast, comes across less affably, as a bully interested in power for its own sake. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2023 An adaptation hoping to reclaim its protagonist from the performer who became synonymous with him in the ’80s, Greg Mottola’s Confess, Fletch may surprise moviegoers who only know Irwin Maurice Fletcher as the affably cartoonish sleuth played by Chevy Chase. John Defore, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1502, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of affably was in 1502

Dictionary Entries Near affably

Cite this Entry

“Affably.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affably. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on affably

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!