sociable

From Middle French sociable, from Latin sociābilis.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsoʊʃəbəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

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sociable (comparative more sociable, superlative most sociable)

1. (of a person) Tending to socialize or be social.

   Synonyms: friendly, inviting, congenial, convivial, outgoing

   He's normally pretty quiet, but he gets much more sociable around women.

   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Society is no comfort to one not sociable.

2. Offering opportunities for conversation; characterized by much conversation.

   a sociable party

3. (archaic) Capable of being, or fit to be, united in one body or company; associable.
   • [1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     They are sociable parts united into one body.

4. (obsolete) No longer hostile; friendly.
   • c. 1608–1610, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Philaster: Or, Love Lies a Bleeding”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Is the King sociable And bids thee live ?

• (antonym(s) of “tending to socialize”): unsociable

sociable (plural sociables)

1. A sociable person.
2. (historical) A four-wheeled open carriage with seats facing each other.
3. A bicycle or tricycle for two persons side by side.
4. A couch with a curved S-shaped back.
5. (US) An informal party or church meeting for purposes of socializing.
   • 1903, George Horace Lorimer, Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to his Son, page 46:

     At the church sociables he used to hop around among them, chipping and chirping like a dicky-bird picking up seed; and he was a great hand to play the piano, and sing saddish, sweetish songs to them.

From Latin sociābilis.

sociable (epicene, plural sociables)

1. sociable

• “sociable”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Borrowed from Latin sociābilis.

sociable m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociables)

1. sociable

• “sociable”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “sociable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “sociable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “sociable”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Learned borrowing from Latin sociābilis.

• IPA^(key): /sɔ.sjabl/

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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sociable (plural sociables)

1. sociable

• “sociable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• sociábel
• sociável (reintegrationist)

Borrowed from Latin sociābilis.

• Rhymes: -able
• Hyphenation: so‧cia‧ble

sociable m or f (plural sociables)

1. sociable

   Antonym: insociable

• “sociable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

From Latin sociābilis.

• IPA^(key): /soˈθjable/ [soˈθja.β̞le] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /soˈsjable/ [soˈsja.β̞le] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: so‧cia‧ble

sociable m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociables)

1. sociable

• “sociable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025