tame

1 of 2

adjective

tamer; tamest
1
: reduced from a state of native wildness especially so as to be tractable and useful to humans : domesticated
tame animals
2
: made docile and submissive : subdued
3
: lacking spirit, zest, interest, or the capacity to excite : insipid
a tame campaign
tamely adverb
tameness noun

tame

2 of 2

verb

tamed; taming

transitive verb

1
a
: to reduce from a wild to a domestic state
b
: to subject to cultivation
c
: to bring under control : harness
2
: to deprive of spirit : humble, subdue
the once revolutionary … party, long since tamedThe Times Literary Supplement (London)
3
: to tone down : soften
tamed the language in the play

intransitive verb

: to become tame
tamable adjective
or tameable
tamer noun

Examples of tame in a Sentence

Adjective The island's birds are quite tame. They ran a pretty tame campaign. Some people were shocked by the movie, but I found the story pretty tame. Members of the audience were too tame to interrupt the speaker. Verb It took a while to tame the horse. the people who tamed the Wild West He struggled to tame his temper. The government needs to do something to tame inflation.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
In making their case, some critics point to an allegedly tamer version of the app in China, suggesting that ByteDance unleashed a more potent product in the U.S. to hook consumers and vacuum up their data. Max Zahn, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024 Oil prices have been relatively tame, despite a slew of challenges overseas. Matt Egan, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 Confidence: Medium-High A look ahead Sunday night: Skies are mainly clear and breezes mostly tame as low temperatures dip into the mid-20s to around 30 degrees. A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024 This year's plungers braved relatively tame temperatures compared to many previous years, and many enjoyed time with friends and family in tents and at bonfires on the beach before and after the plunge. Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 That bright and zingy mixture gets swirled into an otherwise relatively tame chicken-and-rice soup. Emily Heil, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024 Overall delinquency rates remain relatively tame, thanks mostly to mortgage and student loans performing well, New York Fed researchers said. Alicia Wallace, CNN, 6 Feb. 2024 Aside from the Tarantino-esque muppet massacre, this was a pretty tame episode by Gen V standards. Alex Raiman, EW.com, 13 Oct. 2023 Pretty much wall-to-wall sunshine and tame wind — just a few brief gusts from the northeast around 10 mph here and there. A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2024
Verb
He cannot be tamed and leaves his brother’s widow and his home behind. Sara C. Hahn, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024 The Fed sharply raised interest rates starting in 2022 in an effort to tame inflation back to its 2% target. Zimo Zhong, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024 For multi-hue schemes, include plenty of white to tame the color confluence, like the furniture in this cute girls' bedroom idea. Caitlin Sole, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Mar. 2024 One interesting question is whether hybrid approaches can tame the casino while still allowing the computer to be built. Chris Dixon, Fortune, 10 Mar. 2024 Plus, the Federal Reserve’s fight to tame inflation prompted a rise in mortgage rates that continue to push many buyers out of the market. Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 The British media has long obsessed over Meghan and the couple's decision to quit as front-line royals and move to the U.S. Harry's determination to tame the tabloid press has left him at odds with his family. Patrick Smith, NBC News, 16 Feb. 2024 The Fed has seen some substantial progress in taming price increases since kicking off a historic inflation-busting campaign two years ago. Bryan Mena, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 This time around, despite the unusual economic backdrop in which the Fed has been able to tame inflation without causing the unemployment rate to go up, Shilling says the very American tendency to believe in a rosy future overshadows some clear warning signs. Paolo Confino, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tame.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Old English tam; akin to Old High German zam tame, Latin domare to tame, Greek damnanai

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of tame was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near tame

Cite this Entry

“Tame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tame. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tame

1 of 2 adjective
tamer; tamest
1
: changed from the wild state so as to become useful and obedient to human beings : domesticated
a tame elephant
2
: made gentle and obedient
3
: lacking spirit or interest : dull
tamely adverb
tameness noun

tame

2 of 2 verb
tamed; taming
1
a
: to make or become tame
tame a lion
b
: to subject to cultivation
wilderness tamed by farmers
2
: to bring under control : subdue
tame your temper
tamer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on tame

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