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
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2026
Raw garlic scapes are tamer than raw garlic cloves yet offer plenty of fresh, oniony, herbaceous flavor.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Apr. 2026
Josh Boak, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
The findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show a president who is struggling with unfulfilled promises to tame inflation and testing Americans’ patience with a conflict in the Middle East that has dragged on longer than expected.
—Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tame
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Adjective
The original Universal Monster movies are also quite tame by today’s standards, meaning that most of us have spent our lives seeing these monsters as family-friendly Halloween characters, not something to truly fear.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2026
Raw garlic scapes are tamer than raw garlic cloves yet offer plenty of fresh, oniony, herbaceous flavor.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Apr. 2026
Verb
The findings from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show a president who is struggling with unfulfilled promises to tame inflation and testing Americans’ patience with a conflict in the Middle East that has dragged on longer than expected.
—Josh Boak, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
The findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show a president who is struggling with unfulfilled promises to tame inflation and testing Americans’ patience with a conflict in the Middle East that has dragged on longer than expected.
—Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 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 25 Apr. 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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