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.
-
(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.
Fast forward some 18 years and we see a man now calmly confident, staring straight out at us from another studio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
From a corner, the ball broke to Geovany and he calmly placed it into the net.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Raúl Jiménez calmly scored to make it 3-2 in the 69th minute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
“Just let me see your license and registration, son,” he said calmly.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
Nobody paid any attention to our robot as she calmly marched past.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
