congenial

English

Etymology

From con- + genial.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈd͡ʒiːniəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

congenial (comparative more congenial, superlative most congenial)

1. Having the same or very similar nature, personality, tastes, habits or interests.

   Antonym: uncongenial

   • 1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section XIX:

     No sluggish tide congenial to the glooms; / This, as it frothed by, might have been a bath / For the fiend's glowing hoof - to see the wrath / Of its black eddy bespate with flakes and spumes.

   1. Friendly or sociable.

      The congenial bartender makes the Hog’s Head an inviting place to hang out during the weekends.

   2. Suitable to one’s needs.
      • 1961, J. A. Philip, “Mimesis in the Sophistês of Plato”, in Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association 92, pages 453–468:

        What was it that made this notion of mimesis, in spite of its inherent difficulties that only the dialectical method enables him to avoid, seem so useful and congenial to Plato?

   3. Agreeable to one's disposition.
      • 1995, Robin Gandy, “The Confluence of Ideas in 1936”, in The Universal Turing Machine—A Half-Century Survey:

        To the question 'what is a "mechanical" process?' Turing returned the characteristic answer 'Something that can be done by a machine' and he embarked on the highly congenial task of analysing the general notion of a computing machine.

Derived terms

• congeniality
• congenialize
• congenially
• congenialness
• incongenial

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵenh₁- (0 c, 552 e)

Translations

having the same nature

• Bulgarian: бли́зък (bg) (blízǎk), схо́ден (bg) (shóden)
• Catalan: semblant (ca), congenial
• Dutch: gelijkgezind (nl), aanverwant (nl),
• Finnish: samanhenkinen
• French: semblable (fr) m or f
• German: gleichgesinnt, wesensgleich, wesensverwandt (de), geistesverwandt, vom selben Naturell
• Manx: cocheintagh
• Occitan: pariu (oc), semblable (oc)
• Portuguese: congenial, parecido (pt)
• Russian: ро́дственный (ru) (ródstvennyj), схо́дный (ru) (sxódnyj), бли́зкий (ru) (blízkij)
• Spanish: congenial
• Swedish: kongenial (sv), besläktad (sv)

friendly

• Bulgarian: прия́тен (bg) (prijáten)
• Czech: přátelský (cs)
• Dutch: vriendelijk (nl), sympathiek (nl)
• Finnish: miellyttävä (fi), mukava (fi)
• French: sympathique (fr)
• German: freundlich (de), sympathisch (de), gesellig (de), angenehm (de)
• Irish: taitneamhach
• Italian: simpatico (it) m, socievole (it) m
• Occitan: amistós (oc), simpatic (oc)
• Polish: arcymiły (pl)
• Portuguese: amigável (pt), simpático (pt)
• Russian: дружелю́бный (ru) (druželjúbnyj), общи́тельный (ru) (obščítelʹnyj), прия́тный (ru) (prijátnyj)
• Sinhalese: සුහද (suhada)
• Swedish: sympatisk (sv)
• Vietnamese: dễ gần

suitable to one’s needs

• Bulgarian: подходя́щ (bg) (podhodjášt), благоприя́тен (bg) (blagoprijáten)
• Dutch: passend (nl), geschikt (nl)
• Finnish: sopiva (fi), mieluinen (fi)
• French: agréable (fr)
• German: passend (de), angebracht (de), zusagend (de)
• Irish: oiriúnach
• Occitan: agradable (oc), convenable (oc), compatible
• Portuguese: útil (pt), compatível (pt)
• Russian: подходя́щий (ru) (podxodjáščij), благоприя́тный (ru) (blagoprijátnyj)
• Swedish: lämplig (sv), ägnad (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: viðkunnanlegur (is)

Anagrams

• Goclenian, conga line

Portuguese

Etymology

From con- + genial.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõ.ʒe.niˈaw/ [kõ.ʒe.nɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /kõ.ʒeˈnjaw/ [kõ.ʒeˈnjaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõ.ʒɨˈnjal/ [kõ.ʒɨˈnjaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõ.ʒɨˈnjal/ [kõ.ʒɨˈnjaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõ.ʒɨˈnja.li/

• Hyphenation: con‧ge‧ni‧al

Adjective

congenial m or f (plural congeniais)

1. congenial

Further reading

• “congenial”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “congenial”, in Dicionário Eletrônico Houaiss [Houaiss Electronic Dictionary] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: UOL, 2004–2026
• “congenial”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “congenial”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “congenial”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French congénial.

Adjective

congenial m or n (feminine singular congenială, masculine plural congeniali, feminine/neuter plural congeniale)

1. congenial

Declension

Declension of congenial

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	congenial		congenială	congeniali	congeniale
	definite	congenialul		congeniala	congenialii	congenialele
genitive- dative	indefinite	congenial		congeniale	congeniali	congeniale
	definite	congenialului		congenialei	congenialilor	congenialelor

References

• congenial in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN