tame

adjective

\ˈtām

tamer; tamest

Definition of tame

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

tame

verb

tamed; taming

Definition of tame (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : 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 tamed — The Times Literary Supplement (London)

3 : to tone down : soften tamed the language in the play

intransitive verb

: to become tame

Other Words from tame Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about tame

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Other Words from tame

Adjective

tamely adverb

tameness noun

Verb

tamable or tameable \ ˈtā-mə-bəl

\ adjective

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

Alessandro Michele’s Spring 2019 show for Gucci at Paris’s famous performance space Théâtre Le Palace was relatively tame. — Brooke Bobb, Vogue, "Jane Birkin Performed at Gucci’s Spring 2019 Runway Show," 24 Sep. 2018 Inflation remains tame, and wages are modestly rising. — Josh Mitchell, WSJ, "U.S. Consumer Confidence Drops in June," 26 June 2018 The rush of demand illustrates the challenge ahead for Chinese officials, who are seeking to tame house-price bubbles without tanking the entire economy. — Bloomberg.com, "North Korea Border Town Is Now China’s Hottest Property Market," 9 May 2018 Turning inside his defender the German had the entire goal to aim for, but tapped a tame effort right into the hands of Hyun-Woo Cho. — Nathan Hilditch, Pro Soccer USA, "South Korea 2-0 Germany: Champions curse strikes again as Germany exits World Cup," 27 June 2018 All other chicken wings instantly felt tame by comparison. — Nick Kindelsperger, chicagotribune.com, "Forget Buffalo wings — Korean fried chicken is better," 22 Mar. 2018 Yet the company’s total sales has increased by a fairly tame 18% in that time frame. — Charley Grant, WSJ, "What Is Ailing the Drug Industry?," 22 June 2018 However, the outlook of this year’s silly season appears to be tamer in terms of driver movement. — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, "IndyCar midseason review, part III: What's still to come," 17 June 2018 Does Harden feel upstaged by the 6-foot-6 forward when Tucker shines in a magenta suit, outrunning Harden’s comparatively tame millennial pink sweater? — New York Times, "James Harden and P.J. Tucker: Name a More Iconic Fashion Playoff Duo," 22 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Los Angeles Times Pianist Jeremy Denk only slightly tamed his tendency for outlandish challenges and gave a recital focused on the theme of time at the Wallis Center for the Performing Arts. — Laurie Ochoa, latimes.com, "Essential Arts & Culture: Glenda Jackson's scalpel, Laurie Anderson's multiverse, losing Laura Aguilar," 28 Apr. 2018 The lone cowboy taming the land with lasso and fortitude may fit the myth of the West, but the reality was quite different. — Johnforristerross, Longreads, "Taming the Great American Desert," 2 July 2018 And other companies get tamed by getting turned into a public utility. — Christopher Mims, WSJ, "Tech’s Titans Tiptoe Toward Monopoly," 31 May 2018 Resting just above and behind the eyes, the prefrontal cortex helps people tame impulses. — Ferris Jabr, Scientific American, "How the Brain Gets Addicted to Gambling," 14 May 2018 Virtuous, sure, heroic, taming the lawless West and all that, but the filth of it, Tonto, the poverty, the endless killings. — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, "Treatments," 24 Mar. 2018 In other words, the government argued that the presidency tamed the president. — Dara Lind, Vox, "The Supreme Court upheld Trump’s travel ban by pretending Trump isn’t the president," 26 June 2018 But instead, the President's party is trying to grapple with the North Korean reality, accentuating Trump's gesture as one of the only ways the US can tame a nuclear-armed enemy. — CNN, "Republicans in Congress caution Trump against trusting North Korea," 12 June 2018 Since then Beijing’s efforts to tame the country’s burgeoning shadow banking industry have also taken a toll on property companies. — Manju Dalal, WSJ, "Fearing Yuan’s Slide, China Puts New Limits on Property Companies’ Bonds," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tame.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.