If a person is approachable, you feel you can walk up and talk without fear. They seem open, warm, and ready to listen — a teacher who smiles, a boss who does not make you small. That is the sense you will meet most, and it is a compliment. Unapproachable is the opposite: cold, busy, or high-up in a way that shuts you out. The word can also describe a place you can physically get to, but about people it is about character, not distance. Though actually, approachable does not mean they are already your friend; it only means the door looks open.