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

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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective This brand was a little thinner than the pack and delivered a bit of welcome heat, which seemed a rarity in this tame bunch. — Emily Heil, Washington Post, 29 June 2022 By contrast, Vivaldi’s pictorially splendid original sounds tame. — Barbara Jepson, WSJ, 21 June 2022 These masks, sprays, drops, treatments and conditioners will help tame brassy blonde hair color at home to get rid of unwanted yellow, red and orange shades at an affordable price. — Dori Price, Good Housekeeping, 15 June 2022 At first, my Class experiences were quiet and tame. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 14 June 2022 Trevorrow is able to mine from individual action sequences, how tame even T. rex now seems in its late-franchise dotage. — Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2022 Yes, Kenny Moore II is the question mark in this otherwise tame time of year. — Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 7 June 2022 The Follonica Gulf includes a mild microclimate and generally tame sea and wind conditions—hence Scarlino is renowned as one of the safest and best protected ports in the Mediterranean. — Tom Mullen, Forbes, 29 May 2022 The comparatively tame increase in core prices in the data released Friday stood in contrast to the sharp acceleration in the equivalent measure in the Consumer Price Index report released by the Labor Department this month. — New York Times, 27 May 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The Fed boosted rates by 0.75 percentage point on June 15 — its largest hike since 1994 — to try to tame the nation's fiercest bout with inflation in 40 years. — CBS News, 28 June 2022 The sea has long tugged at the human imagination, inspiring stories of hubristic individuals seeking to tame the inhabitants of that seemingly endless expanse. — Alana Mohamed, The Atlantic, 27 June 2022 At the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Fed hiked rates by 75bps to tame runaway inflation. — Sophie Mellor, Fortune, 24 June 2022 In a TikTok video, influencer Arielle Lorre shared that Bieber's stylist, Iriniel de León, uses a hair wax stick from the brand Tancho to tame all those fly-aways in a snatched bun or ponytail. — Emma Becker, PEOPLE.com, 23 June 2022 How to make berry jelly, and a secret ingredient to tame the sweetness. — Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2022 The bank earlier this month lifted the cash rate to 0.35% from 0.1% to tame the higher-than-expected inflation. — Mike Cherney, WSJ, 21 May 2022 Investors remain uneasy about about whether the Fed can do enough to tame inflation without tipping the economy, which is already showing signs of slowing, into a recession. — Arkansas Online, 6 May 2022 Investors remain uneasy about about whether the Fed can do enough to tame inflation without tipping the economy, which is already showing signs of slowing, into a recession. — Dammian J. Troise And Alex Veiga, Anchorage Daily News, 5 May 2022 See More

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.