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
tamed; taming
1
a
: to reduce from a wild to a domestic state
b
: to subject to cultivation
c
: to bring under control : harness
2
3
: to tone down : soften
tamed the language in the play
: to become tame
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
Adam Campbell-Schmitt, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Oct. 2025
While the colorway itself is relatively tame, the hundreds of rhinestone crystals that cover the traditionally leather upper are anything but.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2025
Meghie Rodrigues, IEEE Spectrum, 23 Oct. 2025
The proposal comes as the administration faces growing pressure to tame grocery inflation.
—Mackensy Lunsford, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tame
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Adjective
A lot of these products pack a larger caffeine punch, so if that concerns you then Naked Protein’s comparatively tame 95mg might be more your speed.
—Adam Campbell-Schmitt, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Oct. 2025
While the colorway itself is relatively tame, the hundreds of rhinestone crystals that cover the traditionally leather upper are anything but.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
Terahertz waves are hard to tame.
—Meghie Rodrigues, IEEE Spectrum, 23 Oct. 2025
The proposal comes as the administration faces growing pressure to tame grocery inflation.
—Mackensy Lunsford, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tame
Cite this Entry
“Tame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tame. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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