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
Michael Silver, New York Times, 12 May 2026
Derivatives contracts that hedge against inflation risk are around their highest since October 2025 but still relatively tame, and futures traders expect Fed officials largely to sit on their hands until the inflation storm passes.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 11 May 2026
Megan Vaz, Sun Sentinel, 14 May 2026
Government should tame the savageness of man and make life in this world more gentle, not crueler.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tame
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Adjective
This time, of course, Rodgers is the one responsible for the melodrama, albeit a far tamer manifestation of it than the madness Favre generated in his final days in Green Bay.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 12 May 2026
Derivatives contracts that hedge against inflation risk are around their highest since October 2025 but still relatively tame, and futures traders expect Fed officials largely to sit on their hands until the inflation storm passes.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 11 May 2026
Verb
The forecast comes as fire officials this week tamed a brush fire that burned through more than 11,400 acres of the Everglades in west Broward.
—Megan Vaz, Sun Sentinel, 14 May 2026
Government should tame the savageness of man and make life in this world more gentle, not crueler.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tame
Cite this Entry
“Tame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tame. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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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