adjective

cordial

/ˈkɔːrdʒəl/ · say it: KOR·juhl

warm and friendly

In Personality & Character

In more detail

1. (adjective) warm, friendly, and polite

2. (noun) a sweet-tasting drink made from fruit juice, usually mixed with water

Examples

1. They gave each other a cordial greeting at the beginning of the meeting.
2. The children enjoyed a glass of cordial on a hot summer day.

How to use cordial

As an adjective, cordial describes a manner that is genuinely warm and polite, often used in formal or professional contexts to indicate mutual respect. It suggests more formality than 'friendly' and is more reserved than 'warm'. As a noun (chiefly British), it refers to a concentrated fruit drink concentrate diluted with water.

Common phrases

cordial welcome
cordial relations
cordial atmosphere
cordial greeting
cordial meeting

Synonyms

warm · friendly · affable · gracious · genial

Opposites

cold · hostile · unfriendly

Word family

cordially (adverb) · cordiality (noun)

A common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse 'cordial' with 'cordiale' (an Italian word) or mistakenly treat the noun form as countable in the same way as English beverages.

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