Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Fond of the company of others; gregarious.
- adj. Marked by or affording occasion for agreeable conversation and conviviality. See Synonyms at social.
- adj. Pleasant, friendly, and affable. See Synonyms at gracious.
- n. A social.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Capable of being conjoined; fit to be united in one body or company.
- Disposed to associate or unite with others; inclined to company; of social disposition; social; of animals, social.
- Disposed to be friendly and agreeable in company; frank and companionable; conversible.
- Friendly: with reference to a particular individual.
- Affording opportunities for sociability and friendly conversation.
- Characterized by sociability and the absence of reserve and formality: as, a sociable party.
- Of, pertaining to, or constituting society; social.
- Synonyms and
- Social, Sociable, friendly, communicative, familiar. So far as social and sociable are like in meaning, sociable is the stronger and more familiar. They may differ in that social may express more of the permanent character, and sociable the temporary mood: man is a social being, but is not always inclined to be sociable.
- n. An open four-wheeled carriage with seats facing each other.
- n. A tricycle with seats for two persons side by side.
- n. A kind of couch or chair with a curved S-shaped back, and seats for two persons, who sit side by side and partially facing each other. Also called vis-à-vis.
- n. A gathering of people for social purposes; an informal party; especially, a social church meeting.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Capable of being, or fit to be, united in one body or company; associable.
- adj. Inclined to, or adapted for, society; ready to unite with others; fond of companions; social.
- adj. Ready to converse; inclined to talk with others; not taciturn or reserved.
- adj. Affording opportunites for conversation; characterized by much conversation.
- adj. No longer hostile; friendly.
- n. A gathering of people for social purposes; an informal party or reception.
- n. A carriage having two double seats facing each other, and a box for the driver.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. friendly and pleasant
- adj. inclined to or conducive to companionship with others
- n. a party of people assembled to promote sociability and communal activity
Etymologies
- French, from Latin sociābilis, from sociāre, to share, join, from socius, companion; see sekw-1 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“She said she preferred the term "sociable TV" to "social TV," urging marketers to start "creating an experience consumers want to engage with over a longer period of time.”
“It was not half so interesting as taking lunch to school and eating it in sociable rings on the playground, or in groups under the trees.”
“She was described as a "sociable and pretty young girl".”
“Young children with imaginary friends are often described as sociable, imaginative children who love stories and pretend play.”
“After taking an early breakfast, we all got into a carriage called a sociable, which is very like a larger sort of American coaches and went to”
“sociable" is safer, perhaps, than the tandem; but it is very heavy and awkward, and has a way of taking up the greater part of the road.”
“[Page 203] ing of fire-arms, hauling of faggots, chatting and smoking in sociable groups: everybody had crept under the doubtful shelter of branches and tarpaulins; the whole army was back in its burrows.”
“The 57-year-old married father of four, described as a sociable member of staff, set himself on fire in the car park of a site at Merignac, near Bordeaux, after arriving for a morning shift.”
The Guardian: France Telecom worker kills himself in office car park
“The observers of this law may be called sociable, (the Latins call them commodi); the contrary, stubborn, insociable, forward, intractable.”
“Oh, I don't mean a dance -- I mean -- er -- well, what you'd call a sociable, I suppose.”
reesetee An open, four-wheeled carriage with two double seats facing each other and a box for the driver. Short for "sociable coach." Oct 22, 2008