tame

[ teym ]

/ teɪm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tame ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, tam·er, tam·est.

changed from the wild or savage state; domesticated: a tame bear.

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.

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

lacking in excitement; dull; insipid: a very tame party.

spiritless or pusillanimous.

not to be taken very seriously; without real power or importance; serviceable but harmless: They kept a tame scientist around.

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

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

verb (used with object), tamed, tam·ing.

to make tame; domesticate; make tractable.

to deprive of courage, ardor, or zest.

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

to soften; tone down.

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

to cultivate, as land or plants.

verb (used without object), tamed, tam·ing.

to become tame.

Nearby words

Origin of tame

before 900; (adj.) Middle English; Old English tam; cognate with Dutch tam, German zahm, Old Norse tamr; (v.) Middle English tamen, derivative of the adj.; 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

SYNONYMS FOR tame

3. meek, subdued. 4. flat, empty, vapid, boring, tedious, uninteresting. 5. cowardly, dastardly. 9. break, subdue. 12. calm, mollify.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tame ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR tame

1. wild.

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Related forms

tame·ly, adverbtame·ness, nountam·er, nouno·ver·tame, adjective

o·ver·tame·ly, adverbo·ver·tame·ness, nounun·tame, adjectiveun·tame·ly, adverbun·tame·ness, nounun·tamed, adjectivewell-tamed, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for tame

Her Facebook photos could populate a tame “girls with guns” style calendar.
Open-Carry Militia Mom ‘Murders’ Family|Brandy Zadrozny|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was widely perceived as having been outplayed by a vast military bureaucracy that he never sought to tame.
Hagel Takes a Bullet for Obama: Inside the Defense Secretary’s Sudden Firing|Shane Harris, Tim Mak|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That's tame compared to the C-word and racism other Republicans have thrown on the social network.
The GOP's Many Facebook Fiascos|Tim Mak|August 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He left the crowd with a Greek aphorism—“to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.”
Love Versus the ‘Liberal Gulag’|James Poulos|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I had just gotten my braces off and was learning how to tame my hair with a curling iron.
Apps and Online Programs Offer New Ways to Report Street Harassment|Tessa Miller|April 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Here, if Man is to maintain himself at all, he must be master of tame animals which can eat the grass, and in turn sustain him.
The Unity of Civilization|Various
Custom is, to think a handsome thing in private but tame it down in the utterance.
The Letters Of Mark Twain, Volume 6, 1907-1910|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
He was tame until the shadows began to gather and the sun went down.
The Wolf's Long Howl|Stanley Waterloo
These are tame days when we have forgotten how to make Cock-Ale.
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened|Kenelm Digby
"In a little while he will get tame so he will follow us around," said Ole, as he cut the wooden bars for the cage.
Mari, Our Little Norwegian Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade

British Dictionary definitions for tame

tame

/ (teɪm) /

adjective

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

(of animals) not fearful of human contact

lacking in spirit or initiative; meek or submissivea tame personality

flat, insipid, or uninspiringa tame ending to a book

slow-movinga tame current

verb (tr)

to make tame; domesticate

to break the spirit of, subdue, or curb

to tone down, soften, or mitigate

Derived Forms

tamable or tameable, adjectivetamability, tameability, tamableness or tameableness, nountameless, adjectivetamely, adverb

tameness, nountamer, noun

Word Origin for tame

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

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 tame

tame

adj.

Old English tom, tam "domesticated, docile," from Proto-Germanic *tamaz (cf. Old Norse tamr, Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch tam, Old High German zam, German zahm "tame," Gothic tamjan "to tame"), from PIE *deme- "to constrain, to force, to break (horses)" (cf. Sanskrit damayati "tames;" Persian dam "a tame animal;" Greek daman "to tame, subdue," dmetos "tame;" Latin domare "to tame, subdue;" Old Irish damnaim "I tie up, fasten, I tame, subdue"). Possible ulterior connection with PIE *dem- "house, household" (see domestic). Meaning "spiritless, weak, dull" is recorded from c.1600.

tame

early Middle English teme, from Old English temian "make tame" (see tame (adj.)); form altered 14c. by influence of the adjective. Related: Tamed; taming.

tame

adjective, tam·er, tam·est.

verb (used with object), tamed, tam·ing.

verb (used without object), tamed, tam·ing.

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Examples from the Web for tame

tame

adjective

verb (tr)

Word Origin for tame

tame

tame