placidity

American  

[pluh-sid-i-tee] / pləˈsɪd ɪ ti /

Also placidness

noun

1. a calm or peaceful quality; tranquility; serenity.

   It’s not uncommon for visitors to regard the placidity of Canada’s Peyto Lake as a spiritual experience.

2. lack of interest or proper concern, energy, or action; complacency or apathy.

   In a society that mistakes placidity for gentleness, I think we need spaces to explore, develop, and harness righteous anger.

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Other Word Forms

• unplacidness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of placidity

First recorded in 1610–20; placid ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

placidity

But, as in “Men,” Kinnear’s appearance of placidity makes his characters’ nefarious tendencies even more chilling; his ability to draw his mouth into a grim implacable line is second to none.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024

I had been struck by the placidity of Courtney’s life in the public eye.

From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2023

I wouldn’t say serenity, I would say placidity about that time.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2021

With all the dire warnings, the general seemed to be losing patience with his countrymen’s trademark placidity.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2020

But the placidity of his face belied an unusually active mind.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown