TOP

Definition of genial adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

genial

adjective
 
/ˈdʒiːniəl/
 
/ˈdʒiːniəl/
jump to other results
  1. friendly and cheerful synonym affable
    • a genial person
    • He was a kindly gentleman with white hair and a genial smile.
    Extra Examples
    • He seemed genial enough.
    • Her manner was quite genial.
    • The fierce old man suddenly looked almost genial.
    • Graham was a genial and modest host.
    Topics Personal qualitiesc2
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryGenial is used with these nouns:
    • host
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 16th cent.: from Latin genialis ‘nuptial, productive’, from genius ‘attendant spirit present from one's birth, innate ability or inclination’, from the root of gignere ‘beget’. The Latin sense was adopted into English; hence the senses ‘mild and conducive to growth’ (mid 17th cent.), later ‘cheerful, kindly’ (mid 18th cent.).
See genial in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day