Affabilities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state of being friendly and easy to talk to
2. The quality of demonstrating kindness and approachability in interactions with others
3. A disposition characterized by warmth and sociability that makes one likable

Etymology: Affability is the plain-English result of bolting the suffix "-ity" onto "affable," and the plural "affabilities" is simply the form you get when you want to refer to several distinct kinds of friendliness at once. Because "affable" already carries the sense of being easy to approach and pleasant to talk to, the noun inherits that warmth without any added drama. The suffix does the real work here. "-ity" came into English through Old French "-ite" from Latin "-itas," a noun-forming ending that turns an adjective into a quality or state. So "affable" describes someone who can be spoken to, and "affability" names the quality of being that kind of person. The "-ity" ending also explains why the noun sounds more formal than its everyday cousin "friendliness."

Synonyms: friendliness, sociability, amiability, cordiality, geniality

Antonyms: coldness, hostility, rudeness, aloofness, indifference