serenity
Americannoun
-
the state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil; sereneness.
- Synonyms:
- peace, peacefulness, calm, composure
- Antonyms:
- agitation
-
(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
-
the state or quality of being serene
-
(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:
They have introduced a boutique spa for 2026 as they said demand for wellbeing activities continued to boom and it will offer treatment tents, facials and aromatherapy as "moments of serenity" for festival-goers.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 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
The track fuses West Coast serenity with East Coast grit: Lush keys evoke California’s glow while steady rim clicks and a sticky piano hook capture the rhythm of 1970s New York.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
The memorial thereby manages to combine formality—in tribute to Hunt’s classicism—with serenity, in acknowledgment of its bucolic setting in an urban oasis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
I searched for a word for what I was feeling, for this mix of relief and exultation and serenity, but I couldn’t think of anything.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
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
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 Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
As he spoke, he remembered that night of the eclipse—oh, those moon-washed depths, those stupendous serenities of Law and Beauty which, together, are Truth!
From The Vehement Flame by Deland, Margaret Wade Campbell
Miss Jewett preferred to touch graciously the sunnier slopes of this provincial temperament, to linger in its ancient dignities and serenities.
From The American Spirit in Literature : a chronicle of great interpreters by Perry, Bliss
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.
