equable

adjective

equa·​ble ˈe-kwə-bəl  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

equability

ˌe-kwə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

ˌē-

noun

equableness

ˈe-kwə-bəl-nəs 

ˈē-

noun

equably

ˈe-kwə-blē 

ˈē-

adverb

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

• balmy
• clement
• genial
• gentle
• mild
• moderate
• soft
• temperate

Choose the Right Synonym for equable

steady, even, equable mean not varying throughout a course or extent.

steady implies lack of fluctuation or interruption of movement.

steady progress

even suggests a lack of variation in quality or character.

an even distribution

equable implies lack of extremes or of sudden sharp changes.

maintain an equable temper

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

Word History

Etymology

Latin aequabilis, from aequare to make level or equal, from aequus

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

equable

adjective

equa·​ble ˈek-wə-bəl  ˈē-kwə- 

: not varying or changing

especially : free from extremes or sudden or harsh changes

an equable temper

an equable climate

equably

-blē

adverb