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tame

[teym]
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adjective, tam·er, tam·est.
  1. changed from the wild or savage state; domesticated: a tame bear.
  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.
  4. lacking in excitement; dull; insipid: a very tame party.
  5. spiritless or pusillanimous.
  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.
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verb (used with object), tamed, tam·ing.
  1. to make tame; domesticate; make tractable.
  2. to deprive of courage, ardor, or zest.
  3. to deprive of interest, excitement, or attractiveness; make dull.
  4. to soften; tone down.
  5. to harness or control; render useful, as a source of power.
  6. to cultivate, as land or plants.
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verb (used without object), tamed, tam·ing.
  1. to become tame.
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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

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

1. wild.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tamely

Historical Examples

  • Think you that I will tamely expose my forehead to your aim?

    A Hero of Our Time

    M. Y. Lermontov

  • Could it be expected of the dragoons that they should tamely suffer themselves to be massacred?

    The Snare

    Rafael Sabatini

  • It was a time of joyous excitement which words can but tamely describe.

  • What is the use of having views, if they are just tamely agreed to at once?

    A Woman's Will

    Anne Warner

  • To say the act went off tamely would be simply admitting the truth.

    A Pirate of Parts

    Richard Neville

British Dictionary definitions for tamely

tame

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 submissivea tame personality
  4. flat, insipid, or uninspiringa tame ending to a book
  5. slow-movinga tame current
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verb (tr)
  1. to make tame; domesticate
  2. to break the spirit of, subdue, or curb
  3. to tone down, soften, or mitigate
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Derived Formstamable or tameable, adjectivetamability, tameability, tamableness or tameableness, nountameless, adjectivetamely, adverbtameness, nountamer, noun

Word Origin

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 tamely

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.

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tame

v.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper