tame

[teym]

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.

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

Related formstame·ly, adverbtame·ness, nountam·er, nouno·ver·tame, adjectiveo·ver·tame·ly, adverbo·ver·tame·ness, nounun·tame, adjectiveun·tame·ly, adverbun·tame·ness, nounun·tamed, adjectivewell-tamed, adjective

Synonyms for tame

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tame ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Antonyms for tame

1. wild.

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

Related Words for tame

subdued, gentle, harmless, mild, docile, manageable, boring, weak, bland, bloodless, feeble, subdue, suppress, restrain, soften, conquer, pacify, curb, temper, vanquish

Examples from the Web for tame

Contemporary Examples of tame

Her Facebook photos could populate a tame “girls with guns” style calendar.
Open-Carry Militia Mom ‘Murders’ Family
Brandy Zadrozny
December 16, 2014
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of tame

A tame egret ruffled her white plumes at the Princess's shoulder.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
Reminds me of a cat'mount I tried to tame once, only he's twice as ugly.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
But those d—-d fellows learn of the mad doctors how to tame us.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
But we know that our dull circle must seem tame to one who has seen so much.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Love is not comfort, nor house, nor lands, nor the tame delights of use and wont.
The Hunted Outlaw
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for tame

tame

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 Formstamable or tameable, adjectivetamability, tameability, tamableness or tameableness, nountameless, adjectivetamely, adverbtameness, 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

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.

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