calm
[kahm; older use kam; spelling pronunciation kahlm]
- without rough motion; still or nearly still: a calm sea.
- not windy or stormy: a calm day.
- free from excitement or passion; tranquil: a calm face; a calm manner.
Show More
- freedom from motion or disturbance; stillness.
- Meteorology. wind speed of less than 1 mile per hour (0.447 m/sec).
- freedom from agitation, excitement, or passion; tranquillity; serenity: She faced the possibility of death with complete calm.
Show More
- to make calm: He calmed the excited dog.
Show More
- to become calm (usually followed by down).
Show More
Origin of calm
1350–1400; (noun, adj.) Middle English calm(e) < Italian calma (noun), calmo (adj.) < Late Latin cauma summer heat (with l perhaps from Latin calēre to be hot) < Greek kaûma (stem kaumat-) burning heat; akin to kaíein to burn (see caustic); (v.) Middle English calmen < Italian calmare, derivative of the noun
Synonyms
See more synonyms for calm on Thesaurus.com1. quiet, motionless. 3. placid, peaceful, serene, self-possessed. 7. still, quiet, tranquilize; allay, assuage, mollify, soothe, soften.
Synonym study
3. Calm, collected, composed, cool imply the absence of agitation. Calm implies an unruffled state, especially under disturbing conditions: calm in a crisis. Collected implies complete inner command of oneself, usually as the result of an effort: He remained collected in spite of the excitement. One who is composed has or has gained dignified self-possession: pale but composed. Cool implies clarity of judgment along with apparent absence of strong feeling or excitement, especially in circumstances of danger or strain: so cool that he seemed calm.
Antonyms
2. tempestuous. 3. agitated.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for calmer
Contemporary Examples
Cops said that this weekend was calmer than most of the shows that they encountered at Frontier Ranch.
By contrast, a calmer birth would result in more regular star orbits.
We put our heads together and in the calmer light of logic, and much ersatz coffee, solved the problem.
But Solha is a different, calmer dog today than she was a year ago.
The rallies of the NUWSS were calmer affairs than those of Mrs. Pankhurst.
Historical Examples
Otherwise I may behave in a manner to be regretted in my calmer moments.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Meantime, how fared the peer with the calmer and gentler sister?
"Hysterical," he said to himself, calmer now that he had vented his feelings.
Changing WindsSt. John G. Ervine
He was calmer now, and able to talk about the Dublin shooting with some discrimination.
Changing WindsSt. John G. Ervine
She was calmer now, she had heard, and loyally she answered.
Cap'n Dan's DaughterJoseph C. Lincoln
calm
- almost without motion; stilla calm sea
- meteorol of force 0 on the Beaufort scale; without wind
- not disturbed, agitated, or excited; under controlhe stayed calm throughout the confusion
- tranquil; serenea calm voice
Show More
- an absence of disturbance or rough motion; stillness
- absence of wind
- tranquillity
Show More
- (often foll by down) to make or become calm
Show More
Word Origin
C14: from Old French calme, from Old Italian calma, from Late Latin cauma heat, hence a rest during the heat of the day, from Greek kauma heat, from kaiein to burn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for calmer
calm
n.
late 14c., from Old French calme, carme "stillness, quiet, tranquility," from the adjective (see calm (adj.)).
Show More
calm
v.
late 14c., from Old French calmer or from calm (adj.). Related: Calmed; calming.
Show More
calm
adj.
late 14c., from Old French calme "tranquility, quiet," traditionally from Old Italian calma, from Late Latin cauma "heat of the mid-day sun" (in Italy, a time when everything rests and is still), from Greek kauma "heat" (especially of the sun), from kaiein "to burn" (see caustic). Spelling influenced by Latin calere "to be hot." Figurative application to social or mental conditions is 16c.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper