Sociable describes a person, one specific trait: enjoying the company of others and being easy to talk to. Social is the broader word, covering everything from society and communities to online networks, and it can also describe an outgoing personality. Every sociable person is social, but not everything social is sociable.
The core difference
Sociable is a personality trait about enjoying company, while social is the wider word covering society, behaviour and interaction generally.
- sociable — enjoying the company of others and easy to talk to; friendly: She is very sociable and chats with everyone at the office party.
- social — relating to society, communities, or how people interact; also enjoying being with others, or relating to social media: The report looked at the social effects of long-term unemployment.
How to tell them apart
Sociable is narrow and personal, describing someone who genuinely likes mixing with people, the sort who chats easily at a party. Social stretches far wider: it can describe a whole society, a study of group behaviour, an outgoing person, or even a brand's presence on social media.
The confusion usually comes from social also being able to describe a friendly, outgoing person, which overlaps with sociable. But social keeps working in sentences where sociable would not fit at all, such as social effects, social behaviour in primates, or social channels.
