Adjacent Words

Calm definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CALM, a.
1. Still; quiet; being at rest; as the air. Hence not stormy or tempestuous; as a calm day.
2. Undisturbed; not agitated; as a calm sea.
3. Undisturbed by passion; not agitated or excited; quiet; tranquil; as the mind, temper, or attention.
CALM, n. Stillness; tranquillity; quiet; freedom from motion, agitation, or disturbance; applied to the elements, or the mind and passions.
CALM, v.t. To still; to quiet; as the wind, or elements; to still, appease, allay or pacify, as the mind, or passions.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not agitated; without losing self-possession; "spoke in a calm voice"; "remained calm throughout the uproar"; "he remained serene in the midst of turbulence"; "a serene expression on her face"; "she became more tranquil"; "tranquil life in the country" [syn: calm, unagitated, serene, tranquil]
2: (of weather) free from storm or wind; "calm seas" [ant: stormy] n
1: steadiness of mind under stress; "he accepted their problems with composure and she with equanimity" [syn: composure, calm, calmness, equanimity] [ant: discomposure]
2: wind moving at less than 1 knot; 0 on the Beaufort scale [syn: calm air, calm] v
1: make calm or still; "quiet the dragons of worry and fear" [syn: calm, calm down, quiet, tranquilize, tranquillize, tranquillise, quieten, lull, still] [ant: agitate, charge, charge up, commove, excite, rouse, turn on]
2: make steady; "steady yourself" [syn: steady, calm, becalm]
3: become quiet or calm, especially after a state of agitation; "After the fight both men need to cool off."; "It took a while after the baby was born for things to settle down again." [syn: calm, calm down, cool off, chill out, simmer down, settle down, cool it]
4: cause to be calm or quiet as by administering a sedative to; "The patient must be sedated before the operation" [syn: sedate, calm, tranquilize, tranquillize, tranquillise] [ant: arouse, brace, energise, energize, perk up, stimulate]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English calme, probably ultimately from Old Spanish calma, from Late Latin cauma heat, from Greek kauma, from kaiein to burn Date: 14th century 1. a. a period or condition of freedom from storms, high winds, or rough activity of water b. complete absence of wind or presence of wind having a speed no greater than one mile (1.6 kilometers) per hour — see Beaufort scale table 2. a state of tranquillity II. verb Date: 14th century intransitive verb to become calm — usually used with down transitive verb to make calm — often used with down III. adjective Date: 14th century 1. marked by calm ; still <a calm sea> 2. free from agitation, excitement, or disturbance <a calm manner> • calmly adverb • calmness noun Synonyms: calm, tranquil, serene, placid, peaceful mean quiet and free from disturbance. calm often implies a contrast with a foregoing or nearby state of agitation or violence <the protests ended, and the streets were calm again>. tranquil suggests a very deep quietude or composure <the tranquil beauty of a formal garden>. serene stresses an unclouded and lofty tranquillity <watched the sunset of a serene summer's evening>. placid suggests an undisturbed appearance and often implies a degree of complacency <remained placid despite the criticism>. peaceful implies a state of repose in contrast with or following strife or turmoil <grown peaceful in old age>.

NOAA Weather Glossary

the absence of apparent motion in the air.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., n., & v. --adj. 1 tranquil, quiet, windless (a calm sea; a calm night). 2 (of a person or disposition) settled; not agitated (remained calm throughout the ordeal). 3 self-assured, confident (his calm assumption that we would wait). --n. 1 a state of being calm; stillness, serenity. 2 a period without wind or storm. --v.tr. & intr. (often foll. by down) make or become calm. Derivatives: calmly adv. calmness n. Etymology: ME ult. f. LL cauma f. Gk kauma heat

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Calm Calm (k[aum]m), n. [OE. calme, F. calme, fr. It. or Sp. calma (cf. Pg. calma heat), prob. fr. LL. cauma heat, fr. Gr. kay^ma burning heat, fr. kai`ein to burn; either because during a great heat there is generally also a calm, or because the hot time of the day obliges us seek for shade and quiet; cf. Caustic] Freedom from motion, agitation, or disturbance; a cessation or absence of that which causes motion or disturbance, as of winds or waves; tranquility; stillness; quiet; serenity. The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. --Mark. iv. 39. A calm before a storm is commonly a peace of a man's own making. --South.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Calm Calm, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Calmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Calming.] [Cf. F. calmer. See Calm, n.] 1. To make calm; to render still or quiet, as elements; as, to calm the winds. To calm the tempest raised by Eolus. --Dryden. 2. To deliver from agitation or excitement; to still or soothe, as the mind or passions. Passions which seem somewhat calmed. --Atterbury. Syn: To still; quiet; appease; allay; pacify; tranquilize; soothe; compose; assuage; check; restrain.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Calm Calm (k[aum]m), a. [Compar. Calmer (-[~e]r); super. Calmest (-[e^]st)] 1. Not stormy; without motion, as of winds or waves; still; quiet; serene; undisturbed. ``Calm was the day.'' --Spenser. Now all is calm, and fresh, and still. --Bryant. 2. Undisturbed by passion or emotion; not agitated or excited; tranquil; quiet in act or speech. ``Calm and sinless peace.'' --Milton. ``With calm attention.'' --Pope. Such calm old age as conscience pure And self-commanding hearts ensure. --Keble. Syn: Still; quiet; undisturbed; tranquil; peaceful; serene; composed; unruffled; sedate; collected; placid.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(calmer, calmest, calms, calming, calmed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A calm person does not show or feel any worry, anger, or excitement. She is usually a calm and diplomatic woman... Try to keep calm and just tell me what happened... She sighed, then continued in a soft, calm voice... ADJ • Calm is also a noun. He felt a sudden sense of calm, of contentment. N-UNCOUNT: also a N • calmly Alan looked at him and said calmly, 'I don't believe you.'... ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj 2. If you calm someone, you do something to make them feel less angry, worried, or excited. She was breathing quickly and tried to calm herself... Some people say smoking calms your nerves. VERB: V n, V n • calming ...a fresh, cool fragrance which produces a very calming effect on the mind. ADJ 3. Calm is used to refer to a quiet, still, or peaceful atmosphere in a place. ...the rural calm of Grand Rapids, Michigan. = peace N-UNCOUNT 4. If someone says that a place is calm, they mean that it is free from fighting or public disorder, when trouble has recently occurred there or had been expected. (JOURNALISM) The city of Sarajevo appears relatively calm today. = peaceful ADJ: usu v-link ADJ • Calm is also a noun. Community and church leaders have appealed for calm and no retaliation... N-UNCOUNT: also a N 5. To calm a situation means to reduce the amount of trouble, violence, or panic there is. Mr Beazer tried to calm the protests by promising to keep the company's base in Pittsburgh. VERB: V n 6. If the sea or a lake is calm, the water is not moving very much and there are no big waves. ...as we slid into the calm waters of Cowes Harbour. = still ? rough ADJ 7. Calm weather is pleasant weather with little or no wind. Tuesday was a fine, clear and calm day. ADJ 8. In sailing, a flat calm or a dead calm is a condition of the sea or the weather in which there is very little wind or movement of the water. (TECHNICAL) N-COUNT: usu supp N 9. When the sea calms, it becomes still because the wind stops blowing strongly. When the wind calms, it stops blowing strongly. Dawn came, the sea calmed but the cold was as bitter as ever. VERB: V 10. You can use the calm before the storm to refer to a quiet period in which there is little or no activity, before a period in which there is a lot of trouble or intense activity. PHRASE

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Tranquil, placid, quiet, still, smooth, unruffled. 2. Peaceful, serene, unruffled, tranquil, placid, mild, halcyon. 3. Undisturbed, composed, self-possessed, sedate, unruffled, cool, collected. II. n. 1. Fall of the wind, wind-lull, lull. 2. Peace, serenity, tranquillity, placidity, quiet, stillness, repose, equanimity, calmness. III. v. a. 1. Still, compose, hush, smooth, allay, lull, becalm, tranquillize. 2. Tranquillize, pacify, appease, assuage, quiet, soothe, soften, mollify, moderate, alleviate.

Moby Thesaurus

abnegation, abstinence, accordance, allay, alleviate, anticyclone, appease, assuage, at peace, at rest, aweless, balm, balmy, becalm, blank, blankminded, bloodless, calm down, calmness, cease, cloistered, collected, compose, composed, composure, conciliate, concordant, conservatism, consistency, consonance, constancy, constraint, continence, continuity, control, cool, cool off, coolheaded, coolness, correspondence, cradle, dead calm, deathlike calm, defuse, die down, dispassion, dispassionate, doldrums, dulcify, dwindle, dwindling, ease, easy, easygoing, ebb, ebbing, empty, empty-headed, equability, equable, equanimity, equilibrium, even, even out, even-tempered, even-tenored, evenness, expected, expecting, fatuous, firm, flat calm, gentle, gentleness, golden mean, halcyon, halt, happy medium, homogeneity, horse latitudes, hush, hushed, idyllic, impartiality, impassive, imperturbable, inactive, inane, incogitant, inexcitable, isolated, judiciousness, juste-milieu, lay, lay the dust, lenity, levelheaded, lull, make one easy, meden agan, middle way, mild, mildness, mitigate, moderateness, moderation, moderationism, molder, moldering, mollify, monolithism, motionless, nerveless, neutrality, nirvanic, nonchalant, nonviolence, nothing in excess, oblivious, oily calm, orderly, pacific, pacifism, pacify, passive, pastoral, peace, peaceable, peaceful, peacefulness, peacetime, persistence, philosophical, phlegmatic, piping, placate, placid, placidity, placidness, poised, possessed, pour balm into, pour balm on, propitiate, prudence, quell, quiesce, quiescent, quiet, quieten, quietistic, relax, relaxed, relieve, repose, reposeful, reposing, rest, restful, resting, restraint, rock, rock to sleep, rock-steady, sang-froid, secluded, sedate, self-abnegation, self-control, self-controlled, self-denial, self-possessed, self-possession, self-restraint, sequestered, sequestrated, serene, serenity, settle, sheltered, smooth, smooth down, smooth over, smoothen, sobriety, soft, soothe, soother, stability, stabilize, stable, staid, staunch, steadfastness, steadiness, steady, steady-handed, steady-nerved, steel-nerved, still, still as death, stillish, stillness, stilly, stoic, stoical, stolid, stop, strong-nerved, subdue, subside, subsiding, temperance, temperateness, thoughtfree, thoughtless, together, tranquil, tranquilize, tranquillity, unagitated, unamazed, unastonished, unastounded, unawed, unbewildered, unblenching, unblinking, undazed, undazzled, undisturbed, undumbfounded, unexcessiveness, unextravagance, unextremeness, unfaltering, unflappable, unflinching, unideaed, uniformity, unimpressed, unintellectual, unity, unmarveling, unmoved, unnervous, unoccupied, unperturbed, unquivering, unreasoning, unruffled, unruffledness, unshaken, unshaky, unshrinking, unstirring, unstrained, unsurprised, unthinking, untremulous, untroubled, unwavering, unwondering, vacant, vacuous, via media, wane, waning, windless, windlessness, without a tremor, wonderless