ataraxia
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- ataractic adjective
- ataraxic adjective
Etymology
Origin of ataraxia
First recorded in 1600–10; from Greek ataraxía “impassiveness, calmness,” equivalent to atarák(tos) “unmoved” ( a- a- 6 + tarak-, a stem of tarássein “to disturb” + -tos verbid suffix) + -s(is) -sis + -ia -ia
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For Epicurus, achieving ataraxia requires confronting irrational fears, especially the fear of death.
From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022
And I think what I found is much like what Greek philosophers called ataraxia, a suspended kind of calm in which you can find a surprising strength.
From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2015
The purpose of Scepticism is then the hope of ataraxia, and its origin was in the troubled state of mind induced by the inequality of things, and uncertainty in regard to the truth.
From Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism by Patrick, Mary Mills
That terrible Latin poet Lucretius, whose apparent serenity and Epicurean ataraxia conceal so much despair, said that piety consists in the power to contemplate all things with a serene soul—pacata posse mente omnia tueri.
From Tragic Sense Of Life by Flitch, J. E. Crawford (John Ernest Crawford)
When the sage realizes this, he will cease to prefer one course of action to another, and the result will be apathy, "ataraxia."
From A Critical History of Greek Philosophy by Stace, W. T. (Walter Terence)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
