Love is in the air when it comes to today’s lexical couple. Or more precisely, love is right there in their definitions! The first term, enamored, means simply “in love.” It is the past participle of the passionate verb enamor, “to fill or inflame with love.” Smitten means “very much in love.” It comes from the verb smite, “to afflict or affect” and also “to strike or hit.” It makes sense, then, to think of being smitten as being "struck" by love or—you guessed it!—lovestruck. As for the undertones of meaning: where enamored emphasizes admiration and appreciation, smitten skews more toward infatuation.

The adjective friendly gets a lot of use in English; it can describe individuals or groups that are helpful or welcoming (a friendly staff), or surroundings that are pleasant or conducive to a certain task (a friendly environment). Affable is more specific. This delightful descriptor is usually used of individuals who are easy to approach and talk to. A person with an affable demeanor puts others at ease or draws them in with their warmly polite and agreeable manner.

When we describe someone as honest, we usually mean they have no intent to deceive and can be trusted. When we call someone forthright, we usually mean they are direct and candid in their communication. The adjective forthright is defined as “going straight to the point” or “frank.” Someone who is forthright does not beat around the bush or withhold information; they get to the heart of matters without hesitation. Forthright is similar to the adjective forthcoming, which is defined as “frank and cooperative,” but which implies slightly more agreeability or the divulgence of a larger amount of information. The common link, the directional adverb forth, means “onward” or “forward.”