tame
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.
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.
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.
to become tame.
Origin of tame
1Other words for tame
Opposites for tame
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
She said the drug bridge drew the predictable sensationalism from a press throng that took its drug use cues from tamer festivals.
A Report From the Misunderstood Gathering of the Juggalos | Steve Miller | July 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTStill, one has to imagine that it's probably tamer than what Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier might have cooked up.
Lion attack In 1872, Massarti the Lion Tamer was attacked by Tyrant the Lion during a performance in Bolton, England.
Thrills and Too Many Spills: The Dangers of the Circus | Marina Watts | May 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe show is roughly at the same level of raunchiness—or even its tamer sister, bawdiness—as a mid-rent gay club.
And The Escort of The Year Is… Backstage at The Sex Oscars | Scott Bixby | March 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe became a lion tamer, was mauled by a bear in 1935 in Peru, Indiana, and nearly bled to death.
Kathryn Harrison on Rasputin in New Novel 'Enchantments' | Jane Ciabattari | March 29, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Their conversation is certainly tamer and less piquant than that of the American or the French ladies.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyI knew then that the worst of it had passed, and though one fierce squall succeeded another, each one was tamer.
Everything is snowed under and thae craturs near starved, but trustin' Freckles that complete they are tamer than our chickens.
Freckles | Gene Stratton-PorterHe was evidently growing tamer, for he sat down opposite to me, though he still grasped his weapon.
Carmen | Prosper MerimeeFather talked a good deal to me about Rarey, the great horse-tamer, and it put ideas into my head.
Beautiful Joe | Marshall Saunders
British Dictionary definitions for tame
/ (teɪm) /
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
to make tame; domesticate
to break the spirit of, subdue, or curb
to tone down, soften, or mitigate
Origin of tame
1Derived 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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