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genial

UK/ˈdʒiːnɪəl/US/ˈd͡ʒinjəl/
adjectiveC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,860 of 15,258neutral

Genial means warm, friendly and easy to be with. A genial host, genial company, genial and unhurried.

It describes an atmosphere as much as a person, and a genial manner is one that puts other people at ease. It is a relative of genius, from the Latin word for the guardian spirit that gave somebody their nature.

Definitions of genial

  1. 1adjectivegenialWarm, friendly and easy to be with.C1

    “Our genial host welcomed everyone with a warm smile and a glass of wine.”

genial is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin genialis means festive or pleasant, from genius, the guardian spirit of a person.

  1. Latin

    geniālis — of or pertaining to marriage; festive

  2. Middle French

    génial

  3. English, today

    genial

Borrowed from Middle French génial, from Latin geniālis (“of or pertaining to marriage; festive”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

genial in the wild

  • The effervescent 5th waltz section carries on the irresistible genial character of the waltz while the coda recalls earlier material.

    Leitartikel

  • Keggs supports his impoverished former employer, the genial and often confused Lord Uffenham, and Uffenham's niece Jane.

    Something Fishy

  • Collectively they are also known as the genial tubercle, genial apophysis and the Latin name spinae mentalis.

    Mental spine

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.