sedate

[si-deyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sedate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

calm, quiet, or composed; undisturbed by passion or excitement: a sedate party; a sedate horse.

verb (used with object), se·dat·ed, se·dat·ing.

to put (a person) under sedation.

Nearby words

Origin of sedate

1640–50; < Latin sēdātus (past participle of sēdāre to allay, quieten); akin to sedēre to sit¹

SYNONYMS FOR sedate

1. collected, serene, unruffled, unperturbed. See staid.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sedate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

se·date·ly, adverbse·date·ness, nounun·se·date, adjectiveun·se·date·ly, adverb

un·se·date·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sedate

It is unclear how Trierweiler came to the conclusion that the Élysée had allegedly been ordering the doctors to sedate her.
Hell Hath No Fury Like Valerie Trierweiler, the French President’s Ex|Lizzie Crocker|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They are introduced; they call each other “Mr.” and “Miss”; they dance a sedate foxtrot.
Adam Hochschild on Keeping Company With His Dying Father|Adam Hochschild|June 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He boasted of doing so much drugs that he had enough “running through my circulatory system to sedate Guatemala.”
The Real Wolf of Wall Street: Jordan Belfort’s Vulgar Memoirs|Jimmy So|December 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I don't quite understand how a city can be so sedate and frenetic at the same time, but somehow Los Angeles manages it.
On the Road, Old Bean: Two Brits Adventures in America|Jessica Ferri|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Where Citrus County felt like a coiled spring, the pace of A Million Heavens is sedate, diffused among a dozen or so characters.
3 Must-Read Offbeat Novels: ‘A Million Heavens,’ ‘The Investigation,’ ‘Office Girl’|Drew Toal, Kevin Canfield, Daniel Roberts|July 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was silent and sedate, and conducted himself with astonishing dignity.
Buddhism, In its Connexion With Brahmanism and Hinduism, and In Its Contrast with Christianity|Sir Monier Monier-Williams
But a sedate Newfoundland dog of my acquaintance proceeds more soberly in his work.
Animal Intelligence|George J. Romanes
The manners of the women of the Tyrol are gentle and sedate.
Austria|Frederick Shoberl
I have got a picture for you of my ‘cart and four’, with sedate Choslullah and dear little Mohammed.
Letters from the Cape|Lady Duff Gordon
Though from his dish the Maiden ate, The Queen sat happy and sedate.
Poems by the Way|William Morris

British Dictionary definitions for sedate

sedate

adjective

habitually calm and composed in manner; serene

staid, sober, or decorous

Derived Formssedately, adverbsedateness, noun

Word Origin for sedate

C17: from Latin sēdāre to soothe; related to sedēre to sit

verb

(tr) to administer a sedative to

Word Origin for sedate

C20: back formation from sedative

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 sedate

sedate

adj.

"calm, quiet," 1660s, from Latin sedatus "composed, moderate, quiet, tranquil," past participle of sedare "to settle, calm," causative of sedere "to sit" (see sedentary). Related: Sedately.

sedate

"treat with sedatives," 1945, a back-formation from the noun derivative of sedative (adj.). The word also existed 17c. in a sense "make calm or quiet." Related: Sedated; sedating.

Medicine definitions for sedate

sedate

[sĭ-dāt′]

v.

To administer a sedative to; calm or relieve by means of a sedative drug.

sedate

adjective

verb (used with object), se·dat·ed, se·dat·ing.

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Origin of sedate

Examples from the Web for sedate

sedate

adjective

Word Origin for sedate

verb

Word Origin for sedate

sedate

sedate

sedate

v.