bonhomous means good-natured; full of bonhomie. It carries an Arena rating of 1531, earned across 88 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bonhomous ranks #3,804 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,840 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #6,189 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #6,191 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
bonhomous is pronounced /ˈbɒnəməs/.
Why “bonhomous” is a great word
BONHOMOUS — [Adjective] Possessing or characterized by a warm, good-natured, and kindly friendliness. Formed within English from the noun bonhomie (meaning "geniality, good-natured friendliness"), borrowed from French, itself from bonhomme ("good-natured man"), plus the English suffix -ous. Unlike "gregarious," which emphasizes an active seeking of social company, or "amicable," which describes peaceful relations, bonhomous denotes an inherent, radiating geniality. It is the ruddy glow of a publican's welcome, the effortless laughter that lubricates a crowded room, and the steady, unassuming warmth of a hearth in a quiet house—a quiet testament that goodwill can be a native climate of the soul.
Etymology
From bonhom(ie) + -ous.
adj
- Good-natured; full of bonhomie.e.g.“Ortiz, the burly, bonhomous bar-keeper with the hooked, prize-fighter nose […], epitomised the pied noir with his emotional vehemence.” — 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 350:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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