calm1
/kɑːm
/adjective
1Not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or other strong emotions: she had to keep calm at all costs his voice was calm...
- Everyone knew her time was come, but they tried to keep calm faces for her sake.
- As I see it, it is vital that you keep calm and happy so our baby will have a chance to get off to a good start in life.
- Always behave like a duck - keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.
Synonyms
serene, tranquil, relaxed, unruffled, unperturbed, unflustered, undisturbed, unagitated, unmoved, unbothered, untroubled;
equable, even-tempered, imperturbable, quiet, steady;
placid, peaceful, sedate, unexcitable, impassive, dispassionate, unemotional, phlegmatic, stolid;
composed, cool, collected, {cool, calm, and collected}, as cool as a cucumber, cool-headed, self-possessed, controlled, self-controlled, poised
informal unflappable, unfazed, together, laid-back, chilled
rare equanimous
1.1(Of a place) peaceful after violent activity: the city was reported to be calm, but army patrols remained...
- Despite his ill temper, however, every day that he spends in the calm atmosphere of the peaceful village seems to soften him.
- Police disclosed that the town was calm and peaceful, and no complaints or damage from the tourists were reported so far.
- Close your eyes as you breathe and picture a calm place.
2(Of the weather) pleasantly free from wind: the night was clear and calm...
- In New Zealand lake water can be stored while wind power is available and used in calm weather.
- Some of these failures occur during perfectly calm weather.
- When the wind blows, it can be a fearsome proposition, yet, like all links, it is vulnerable when the weather is calm and placid.
Synonyms
windless, still, tranquil, quiet, serene, peaceful, pacific, undisturbed, restful, balmy, halcyon
2.1(Of the sea) not disturbed by large waves: a dead calm sea...
- Even in calm seas, the waves breaking over a reef are dangerous.
- It was really nice just to follow the cliffs and look down onto a dead calm sea with a setting sun in the west giving the whole scene a nice warm glow.
- I'd do a brief but deep meditation - start by visualising a calm sea and synchronising your breath to the waves.
Synonyms
tranquil, still, like a millpond, smooth, glassy, flat, motionless, waveless, unagitated, storm-free
literary stilly
noun [mass noun]
1The absence of strong emotions; calm feelings: his usual calm deserted him...
- The blog praised him today for finally showing some passion, something different than his usual state of eerie calm.
- When he spoke, he's surrounded by his usual air of self-confidence, calm, indifference and superiority.
- Vermeer, despite all his appearance of remoteness and calm, is strong meat.
Synonyms
composure, coolness, calmness, self-possession, sangfroid, presence of mind, poise, aplomb, self-control;
serenity, tranquillity, equanimity, imperturbability, equability, placidness, placidity, impassiveness, impassivity, dispassion, phlegm, stolidity
informal cool, unflappability
rare ataraxy, ataraxia
1.1The absence of violent activity in a place: the elections proceeded in an atmosphere of relative calm [in singular]: an edgy calm reigned in the capital...
- In some cases, the woman's fatal response occurs during a period of relative calm in the violence such as after a battering incident has already occurred.
- After a period of relative calm, things are beginning to get hectic all over again for Allison.
- For gamblers used to the relative calm of Las Vegas, the feeding frenzy in Macao can be a bit of a shock.
Synonyms
tranquillity, stillness, calmness, quiet, quietness, quietude, peace, peacefulness, serenity, silence, hush;
restfulness, repose
2The absence of wind: in the centre of the storm calm prevailed...
- There has been sunshine, hail, rain, sleet, wind and calm all within minutes of each other, but more often at the same time; a tangible oxymoron.
- For example, if you use the helium balloon with the light wind kite it will fly in that period between light winds and flat calm.
- Some people dozed during this eerie calm only to be awakened by rushing, howling winds when the back side of the hurricane struck.
2.1Still air represented by force 0 on the Beaufort scale (less than 1 knot or 1 km/h).
2.2 [count noun] (often calms) An area of the sea without wind: flat calms...
- The big challenge ahead is the notorious Doldrum belt, where the trade winds in the northern hemisphere cancel out those to the south, producing a vast area of squalls and calms where boats can stall for days.
- The crew's morale bottomed out when the Wave Warrior hit the Doldrums, an area near the equator that is notorious for its calms and its light, shifting winds.
- Ask any fisherman what his greatest enemies are and high on the list will come midges, flat calms and leaking waders.
verb [with object]
1Make (someone) tranquil and quiet; soothe: I took him inside and tried to calm him down...
- After eventually calming the woman down and assuring her they mean no harm they take her to shelter in a nearby house.
- Strangely, the song calmed people down and stopped them from running too far.
- They helped and calmed the victims and certainly prevented the patients from deteriorating further.
Synonyms
soothe, pacify, placate, mollify, appease, conciliate;
hush, lull, gentle, tranquillize;
quell, allay, alleviate, assuage;
British quieten (down);
Australian square off
rare dulcify
1.1 [no object] (calm down) (Of a person) become tranquil and quiet: gradually I calmed down and lost my anxiety...
- It could be a matter of sitting in a quiet room, or walking in a park, or going to a church, and then gradually and gently calming down.
- When the drugs take affect she calms down and stops yelling.
- After calming down and finishing my homework, I went to bed.
Synonyms
compose oneself, recover/regain one's composure, control oneself, recover/regain one's self-control, pull oneself together, keep one's head, simmer down, cool down, cool off, take it easy;
British quieten down
informal get a grip, keep one's cool, play it cool, keep one's shirt on, wind down, come back down to earth
North American informal chill out, hang loose, stay loose, decompress
Phrases
the calm before the storm
Origin
Late Middle English: via one of the Romance languages from Greek kauma 'heat (of the day)'.
The origin of calm can be traced back to the idea of the heat of the midday sun in a hot climate, when people are indoors and everything is quiet and still. Calm came into English via Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese from Greek kauma ‘heat of the day’, and was perhaps also influenced by Latin calere ‘to be warm’.
Rhymes
CALM2
/kɑːm/abbreviation Australian
The Department of Conservation and Land Management: the reserve contains some 500 species of plants and is managed by CALM...
- They'll use a mobile offshore production unit and a floating storage and offloading vessel moored to a CALM buoy.
- Divers must obtain permits from Western Australia's CALM department.
- It is on the threatened species list and officers from CALM have been very diligent in keeping specimens alive.
- passive prayer
- passive rate
- passive representation
- passive-resist
- passive resistance
- passive-resistant
- passive-resister
- passive restraint
- passive smoke
- passive smoker
- passive smoking
- passive title
- passive transport
- passive trust
- passive use
- passive voice
- passivise
- passivism
- passivist
- passivity
- passivizability
- passivizable
- passivization
- passivize
- pass judgement