1 amenability | Definition of amenability
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amenable

adjective
ame·​na·​ble | \ É™-ˈmÄ“-nÉ™-bÉ™l How to pronounce amenable (audio) , -ˈme- How to pronounce amenable (audio) \

Definition of amenable

1 : liable to be brought to account : answerable citizens amenable to the law
2a : capable of submission (as to judgment or test) : suited The data is amenable to analysis.
b : readily brought to yield, submit, or cooperate a government not amenable to change
c : willing sense 1 was amenable to spending more time at home
Other Words from amenable Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about amenable

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Other Words from amenable

amenability \ -​ËŒmÄ“-​nÉ™-​ˈbil-​É™t-​Ä“ How to pronounce amenability (audio) , -​ËŒme-​ \ noun
amenably \ -​ˈmÄ“-​nÉ™-​blÄ“ How to pronounce amenably (audio) , -​ˈme-​ \ adverb

Synonyms & Antonyms for amenable

Synonyms

disposed, fain, game, glad, inclined, minded, ready, willing

Antonyms

disinclined, unamenable, unwilling

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Choose the Right Synonym for amenable

responsible, answerable, accountable, amenable, liable mean subject to being held to account. responsible implies holding a specific office, duty, or trust. the bureau responsible for revenue collection answerable suggests a relation between one having a moral or legal obligation and a court or other authority charged with oversight of its observance. an intelligence agency answerable to Congress accountable suggests imminence of retribution for unfulfilled trust or violated obligation. elected officials are accountable to the voters amenable and liable stress the fact of subjection to review, censure, or control by a designated authority under certain conditions. laws are amenable to judicial review not liable for the debts of the former spouse

obedient, docile, tractable, amenable mean submissive to the will of another. obedient implies compliance with the demands or requests of one in authority. obedient to the government docile implies a predisposition to submit readily to control or guidance. a docile child tractable suggests having a character that permits easy handling or managing. tractable animals amenable suggests a willingness to yield or cooperate because of a desire to be agreeable or because of a natural open-mindedness. amenable to new ideas

Did You Know?

Amenable is a legacy of Anglo-French and derives ultimately from Latin minari, meaning "to threaten." Since 1596, English speakers have been using it in courtrooms and writings of law with the meaning "answerable," as in "citizens amenable to the law." It later developed the meanings "suited" ("a simple function . . . which is perfectly amenable to pencil-and-paper arithmetic" - Nature, April 1973) and "responsive" (as in "mental illnesses that are amenable to drug therapy"). It also came to be used of people with a general disposition to be agreeable or complaisant - like Mr. Dick in David Copperfield, who was "the most friendly and amenable creature in existence." Nowadays, "amenable" is often used to describe someone who is favorably disposed to a particular named something.

Examples of amenable in a Sentence

Mr. Bush is in a position to make his party more amenable to minorities and especially blacks. He should seize the moment. — Jason L. Riley, Wall Street Journal, 16 Jan. 2003 While no one yet knows how wide … margins can go, contracts establish royalty rates and project them far into the future. Many agents have thus pushed for a term of license of just a few years. Publishers, however, are not always amenable. — Steven M. Zeitchik, Publishers Weekly, 14 June 1999 Some of the newer findings address a vexing flaw in the sole noninvasive screening test for detecting microscopic prostate cancer, the form most amenable to a cure. — Marc B. Garnick et al., Scientific American, December 1998 … depression, schizophrenia and manic depression, mental troubles that are now considered amenable to treatment by drug therapy … — Sherry Turkle, London Review of Books, 19 Mar. 1998 whatever you decide to do, I'm amenable—just let me know our normally balky cat becomes the most amenable of creatures when confronted with the strange environment of the veterinary clinic
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Baker said one of the jurors was amenable to the defense’s theory that an arsonist could have started the fire. — Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, "Ghost Ship trial: Jurors deadlocked over landlord responsibility, legal standard," 7 Sep. 2019 Greenblatt had been working closely with Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and a top White House adviser, to deliver a plan that would be amenable to both sides in the region. — Emily Tillett, Kathryn Watson, CBS News, "Lead envoy for Middle East peace, Jason Greenblatt, to leave White House," 5 Sep. 2019 The court surface clearly is amenable to Nadal’s game -- and Federer’s as well. — oregonlive, "Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal on track for long-awaited U.S. Open showdown, but who would be the favorite?," 3 Sep. 2019 On Friday, TMZ Sports reported that Cousins was amenable to cooperating with the Mobile Police Dept., which has a warrant out for his arrest, but he isn’t cleared to fly after ACL surgery on his right knee. — Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, "Cousins can’t fly to Alabama to turn himself in on arrest warrant: report," 30 Aug. 2019 Of course, White would prefer scheduling a home-and-home with FSU instead of FIU, but the Seminoles — like all of the other in-state Power 5 teams — aren’t amenable to such an agreement. — Mike Bianchi, orlandosentinel.com, "Why doesn’t national media back UCF scheduling philosophy instead of blasting it? | Commentary," 30 July 2019 But that doesn't mean that some aspects of the changes dogs have undergone aren't amenable to study. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "We may have inadvertently selected for muscles on dogs’ faces," 18 June 2019 But independent voters were amenable to the California GOP’s focus on bread-and-butter issues, such as taxes and home prices. — James P. Sutton, National Review, "Why the GOP Has Declined in California," 1 Aug. 2019 The trouble is that Mr Lukashenko might not be amenable. — Erasmus, The Economist, "Why Vladimir Putin took an atheist to an ancient monastery," 21 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'amenable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of amenable

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for amenable

Anglo-French, from amener to bring, compel, from a- (from Latin ad-) + mener to lead, from Late Latin minare to drive, from Latin minari to threaten — more at mount

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More Definitions for amenable

amenable

adjective
How to pronounce amenable (audio) How to pronounce amenable (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of amenable

: willing to agree or to accept something that is wanted or asked for
formal : able to be controlled, organized, or affected by something

See the full definition for amenable in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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