tame

[ teym ]

See synonyms for: tame tamed tamer taming 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

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”

Other words for tame

3	meek, obedient, yielding
4	flat, vapid, boring, tedious, tiresome, uninteresting
5	cowardly, dastardly, fainthearted
9	break, subdue
12	calm, moderate, mollify

See synonyms for tame on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for tame

wild

See antonyms for tame on Thesaurus.com

Other words from tame

tame·ly, adverb
tame·ness, noun
tam·er, noun
o·ver·tame, adjective
o·ver·tame·ly, adverb
o·ver·tame·ness, noun
un·tame, adjective
un·tame·ly, adverb
un·tame·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tame in a sentence

In the animal kingdom, besides the elephants, I was much struck by the number and tameness of the ravens of Ceylon.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
Sir Orlando had been a little carried away by his own eloquence and the Duke's tameness, and had interrupted the Duke.
The Prime Minister | Anthony Trollope
Correct tameness is the usual character of classical allusion in authors well versed in classical studies.
A Letter on Shakspere's Authorship of The Two Noble Kinsmen | William Spalding
Lengthening the pause without increasing the touch suggests tameness, sluggishness, or dullness of thought.
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue | S. S. Curry
Long may he endure to enliven the drear tameness of civilization with a memory of the world's old wildness.
In New England Fields and Woods | Rowland E. Robinson

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 submissive: a tame personality
flat, insipid, or uninspiring: a tame ending to a book
slow-moving: a tame current

verb(tr)

to make tame; domesticate
to break the spirit of, subdue, or curb

to tone down, soften, or mitigate

Origin of tame

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

Derived forms of tame

tamable or tameable, adjective
tamability, tameability, tamableness or tameableness, noun
tameless, adjective
tamely, adverb
tameness, noun
tamer, noun

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

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