Meaning & use
friendly
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Behaving in a kind, warm, and pleasant way toward other people.
Grammar: Can be used before a noun (a friendly smile) or after a linking verb (she is friendly).
Patterns
- friendly to someone
- friendly with someone
- a friendly person
The new neighbor was very friendly and invited us over for coffee.
She gave me a friendly smile as I walked into the room.
He is friendly with everyone in his class.
adjectivecomparable
Not harmful or difficult; easy to use or be in.
Grammar: Often used in compounds like user-friendly or eco-friendly.
Patterns
- user-friendly
- eco-friendly
- child-friendly
The new app is very user-friendly, even for beginners.
They want to build a more eco-friendly house.
This part of the city is not very pedestrian-friendly.
adjectivecomparable
Favorable or helpful to a particular person or group.
Grammar: Often followed by 'to' or 'toward'.
Patterns
- friendly to something
- friendly toward someone
The company has a policy that is friendly to working parents.
The rules are not very friendly to small businesses.
Word forms
| comparative | friendlier |
|---|---|
| superlative | friendliest |
Common combinations
- friendly smile
- He welcomed us with a friendly smile.
- friendly atmosphere
- The restaurant has a friendly atmosphere.
- friendly advice
- She gave me some friendly advice about the job.
- friendly to someone
- The staff were very friendly to us.
- environmentally friendly
- These bags are more environmentally friendly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- kind
- Kind focuses on caring about others' feelings; friendly focuses on being pleasant and easy to talk to.
- warm
- Warm suggests strong affection and emotional closeness; friendly can be more casual.
- amiable
- Amiable is more formal and describes a pleasant, good-natured personality.
- cordial
- Cordial is formal and often used for polite but not deeply personal behavior.
Opposites
Word family
- friendliness noun
- The quality of being friendly.
- friend noun
- A person you know well and like.
- unfriendly adjective
- Not kind or pleasant toward others.
Commonly confused: friendly or friend?
friendly vs friend
Friend is a noun (a person), while friendly is an adjective (a quality).
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
'Friendly to everyone' means she behaves kindly toward everyone. 'Friendly with everyone' means she has a friendly relationship with everyone, which is also possible but different in meaning; 'for' and 'of' do not fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “friendly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.