different between cheerful vs amicable

English

Alternative forms

• cheerfull (archaic)
• chearful (archaic or dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English chereful, cherful, equivalent to cheer +? -ful.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?t????f?l/, /?t????f?l/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?t????f?l/, /?t????f?l/
• Hyphenation: cheer?ful
• Rhymes: -??rf?l

Adjective

cheerful (comparative more cheerful, superlative most cheerful)

1. Noticeably happy and optimistic.

   Synonyms: bright, bubbly, cheerly, ebullient, happy, joyful, merry, optimistic, vivacious; see also Thesaurus:happy

   Antonyms: depressed, miserable, sad

2. Bright and pleasant.

   • At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.

Translations

English

Etymology

From Late Latin am?c?bilis (“friendly”); see amiable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?æ.m?.k?.b?l/

Adjective

amicable (comparative more amicable, superlative most amicable)

1. Showing friendliness or goodwill.

   They hoped to reach an amicable agreement.

   He was an amicable fellow with an easy smile.

Usage notes

Amicable is particularly used of relationships or agreements (especially legal proceedings, such as divorce), with meaning ranging from simply “not quarrelsome, mutually consenting” to “quite friendly”. By contrast, the similar term amiable is especially used to mean “pleasant, lovable”, such as an “amiable smile”.

Derived terms

Related terms

• amiable
• amity

Translations

References

Further reading

• amicable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• amicable in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• amicable at OneLook Dictionary Search