serenity
Americannoun
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serenities
plural
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the state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil; sereneness.
- Synonyms:
- peace, peacefulness, calm, composure
- Antonyms:
- agitation
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(usually initial capital letter) a title of honor, respect, or reverence, used in speaking of or to certain members of royalty (usually preceded by his, your, etc.).
noun
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the state or quality of being serene
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(often capital) a title of honour used of certain royal personages: preceded by his, her, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of serenity
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English serenite, from Latin serēnitās; see serene ( def. ), -ity ( def. )
Explanation
The goal of meditation is to reach a state of serenity, when your mind is still and perfectly calm. Use serenity to mean the quality or state of being calm and peaceful. It is hard to believe that the ocean, whipped by winds during a storm, can ever return to a state of serenity, where its surface looks as smooth as glass. And if you're babysitting your neighbor's rowdy triplets, you might long for the serenity of your quiet bedroom. Serenity is from the Latin serenus, meaning "calm or peaceful," plus the English suffix -ity, meaning "quality or state of."
Vocabulary lists containing serenity
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 1
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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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.
See Examples For:
The city allows Rohl to enjoy some anonymity and serenity after his whirlwind year, at least for now.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
As she’s gotten older, the Oscar winner has become more comfortable doing less in her performances, allowing for a fragile serenity that is belied by the anguish and anxiety roiling underneath.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Completely reimagined with an emphasis on natural light, flow, and function, the property exudes a sense of serenity from the moment you arrive.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
“May strength, serenity, and solidarity prevail among us in the face of this difficult moment,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
There’s no serenity, for instance, none at all, no closeness to God.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
For the serenities of the countess, Katharine Cornell's personal graciousness is more in accord.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is particularly effective with modern music, with which Bernstein has had consistent success, and whose complex rhythms he feels perhaps more deeply than he feels the serenities of the classics.
From Time Magazine Archive
Page recognized the deception, and seizing the rascal's collar with a firm editorial grip, rejected the poem, and ejected the poet, with an energy very invigorating to the ancient serenities of the office.
From The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume I by Burton Jesse Hendrick
In those days the bicycle was still rare and costly and the motor car had yet to come and stir up rural serenities.
From The History of Mr. Polly by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
His God, for a time at least, was a God of storms and horrors as well as of serenities and perfections.
From The "Genius" by Theodore Dreiser
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.
