tame

[teym]

adjective

tamer, tamest 

1. changed from the wild or savage state; domesticated.

   a tame bear.

   Antonyms: wild

2. without the savageness or fear of humans normal in wild animals; gentle, fearless, or without shyness, as if domesticated.

   That lion acts as tame as a house cat.

3. tractable, docile, or submissive, as a person or the disposition.

   Synonyms: yielding, obedient, meek

4. lacking in excitement; dull; insipid.

   a very tame party.

   Synonyms: tiresome, tedious, boring, vapid, flat

5. spiritless or pusillanimous.

   Synonyms: fainthearted, dastardly, cowardly

6. not to be taken very seriously; without real power or importance; serviceable but harmless.

   They kept a tame scientist around.

7. brought into service; rendered useful and manageable; under control, as natural resources or a source of power.

8. cultivated or improved by cultivation, as a plant or its fruit.

verb (used with object)

tamed, taming 

1. to make tame; domesticate; make tractable.

   Synonyms: subdue, break

2. to deprive of courage, ardor, or zest.

3. to deprive of interest, excitement, or attractiveness; make dull.

4. to soften; tone down.

   Synonyms: mollify, moderate, calm

5. to harness or control; render useful, as a source of power.

6. to cultivate, as land or plants.

verb (used without object)

tamed, taming 

1. to become tame.

tame

/ teɪm /

adjective

1. changed by man from a naturally wild state into a tractable, domesticated, or cultivated condition

2. (of animals) not fearful of human contact

3. lacking in spirit or initiative; meek or submissive

   a tame personality

4. flat, insipid, or uninspiring

   a tame ending to a book

5. slow-moving

   a tame current

verb

1. to make tame; domesticate

2. to break the spirit of, subdue, or curb

3. to tone down, soften, or mitigate

Other Word Forms

• tamability noun
• tameness noun
• tamable adjective
• tameless adjective
• tamer noun
• tamely adverb
• overtame adjective
• overtamely adverb
• overtameness noun
• untame adjective
• untamely adverb
• untameness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tame¹

First recorded before 900; (adjective) Middle English; Old English tam; cognate with Dutch tam, German zahm, Old Norse tamr; (verb) Middle English tamen, derivative of the adjective; replacing Middle English temen “to tame,” Old English temian, derivative of tam; cognate with Old Norse temja, Gothic gatamjan; akin to Latin domāre “to tame”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tame¹

Old English tam; related to Old Norse tamr, Old High German zam

Example Sentences

The RBNZ’s aggressive tightening earlier in the postpandemic period succeeded in taming inflation but has come at the cost of jobs and economic momentum.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

France just lost its fourth prime minister in a little over a year amid an impasse over taming its debt.

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Mann said the BOE could help close the “consumption gap” and boost growth by keeping its key rate high and taming inflation.

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Beyond addressing campus politics, the compact seeks to tame the cost of college.

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Israel tried to tame Hamas with financial incentives, facilitating Qatari cash transfers, issuing work permits for thousands of Gaza laborers, and even supplying free electricity knowing that it powered Hamas’s terror tunnels.

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Related Words

• conquer 
• curb 
• pacify 
• restrain 
• soften 
• subdue 
• suppress 
• temper 
• vanquish 

When To Use

What does tame mean?

When an animal is tame, it has been domesticated, a sense metaphorically extended to someone or something considered "subdued," "boring," or "mild."Tame is also a verb for putting something wild under control.