Amenable / adjective / a·me·na·ble

When we think of amenable people or things, we think of positive circumstances where people are compliant, controllable, vulnerable, and receptive to making compromises and engaging in agreeable behaviors.

Amenable is an adjective we use in English to describe people who have the ability to be submissive or pass society's tests. We also use amenable as a legal term that depicts answering charges levied against us or paying the price by admitting to crimes committed. Amenable people and situations make our lives easier when they show compliance and cooperation.

In a Sentence

Businesses that are more amenable to creating employee-centric work environments are likely to have happier employees and lower turnover rates.

Tense family situations can improve when one family member shows they are amenable to making the changes needed to resolve the issues.

People who are more amenable to the idea of going with the flow of life are less stressed out than people who worry about every small detail.

Etymology

We derived the word amenable from the Latin term minari, which means "to threaten." It entered our language in the 16th century. English speakers adopted the term amenable circa 1600 and initially applied it to a legal term that meant “answering charges in a court of law.” We often use the word today to describe people in general as agreeable and cooperative.

Synonym

Willing, Inclined

Antonyms

Unwilling, Nonconforming