tame

[teym]

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

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for tamely

Historical Examples of tamely

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.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue
Various
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

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 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.

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.