calmly
Americanadverb
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without excitement, agitation, or passion.
He kept his cool throughout, calmly challenging his opponents on alleged facts he believed were wrong.
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(of wind, waves, etc.) with relatively little force or movement; gently.
The wind blew calmly as the three of us lay on the beach, lazily passing the time.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of calmly
Explanation
When you do something calmly, you're cool and peaceful about it. Screaming hysterically for your mischievous dog to come back won't work, but if you calmly call his name, he'll probably come running. Doing things calmly means they happen easily, without any disturbance or strong emotion. That can include breathing calmly to reduce stress, speaking calmly to someone who's upset, or watching the gentle breeze blow calmly across the surface of a lake. The adverb calmly comes from the Old Italian calma, which means both "quiet" and "fair weather," and its Late Latin root cauma, "heat of the midday sun."
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.
"The kind of person who misses a flight and, instead of panicking, calmly adapts to the situation. This person may still feel stressed, but they're better able to manage it through psychological flexibility."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
“People may underestimate wind and solar power,” Cena says in one ad, describing industry job creation as he calmly defeats several grizzly bears in a tug-of-war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Social media, however, is flooded with memes of exhausted parents calmly negotiating with a child having a supermarket meltdown, something Ockwell-Smith finds deeply frustrating.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Dydzuhn continued that Cassius guided her to safety and spoke calmly, telling her, “There’s a man here with a weapon. I need to get you out of here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
“You taught me how to do that duara thing earlier,” she said calmly.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
