Main definitions of calm in English

1Not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or other strong emotions.

1. 1.1(of a place) peaceful after violent activity.
   ‘the city was reported to be calm, but army patrols remained’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Despite his ill temper, however, every day that he spends in the calm atmosphere of the peaceful village seems to soften him.’
   • ‘Police disclosed that the town was calm and peaceful, and no complaints or damage from the tourists were reported so far.’
   • ‘Close your eyes as you breathe and picture a calm place.’
   • ‘They patrol these places at night, which ensures a calm atmosphere all over town - especially over festive periods and holidays.’
   • ‘It wasn't the biggest place in the town square but it had a more subtle and calm environment than most places, which was a definite plus.’
   • ‘He slowly pushed open the door, to find a quiet, calm room in which he had not been for nearly a year.’
   • ‘The hotel is located amid six acres of stunningly landscaped gardens, creating a calm area amidst the hectic city.’
   • ‘The Superdome started out as a pretty calm environment.’
   • ‘Two weeks ago the couple announced they had split, saying they wanted the baby to be born into ‘a calm environment with no animosity between its parents’.’
   • ‘It's around this time Mum arrived at the hospital in a flurry of excitement and colour, dispelling the calm atmosphere Lucas and I had achieved.’
   • ‘In May, 2002, when Zhongdian was renamed Shangri-La, this formerly calm region gained overnight fame.’
   • ‘They strive to create a calm environment to eliminate fear.’
   • ‘I will miss everything about Bulgaria because I like the calm atmosphere of Sofia and the good friendships built here.’
   • ‘The calm atmosphere wraps around you like a comforting blanket as you find yourself reflecting upon the weekend.’
   • ‘The atmosphere is calm and low-key, with as few distractions as possible to enable the pupils to learn how to prepare and serve food.’
   • ‘Above all, the Robert Ogden School wants to create a safe, comfortable, and calm environment for its pupils.’
   • ‘It has agreed in principle to a forum on Europe in which the issues at stake will be debated in a calm atmosphere.’
   • ‘The building offers a calm haven in which to study art and enjoy views of the countryside.’
   • ‘The calm atmosphere however, was broken by a rustle ten feet away.’
   • ‘Here, the cheerful houses of the calm suburbs were as intangible as the dreams of fortune and happiness were to the children of the ghetto.’

2(of the weather) pleasantly free from wind.

1. 2.1(of the sea) not disturbed by large waves.
   ‘a dead calm sea’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Even in calm seas, the waves breaking over a reef are dangerous.’
   • ‘It was really nice just to follow the cliffs and look down onto a dead calm sea with a setting sun in the west giving the whole scene a nice warm glow.’
   • ‘I'd do a brief but deep meditation - start by visualising a calm sea and synchronising your breath to the waves.’
   • ‘We sailed off into the nothingness of the flat calm sea.’
   • ‘Children waded into the calm sea, or played on the smooth, round rocks on the beach.’
   • ‘At Pendennis, I slithered from the rocks into a flat, calm sea.’
   • ‘The first week, they sailed the luxurious 44-foot Hazana east in calm seas.’
   • ‘The calm sea helped the families return almost afresh.’
   • ‘One of the two boats bobs up and down on the calm sea.’
   • ‘Over 300,000 were rescued from the beaches, and brought safely across exceptionally calm seas.’
   • ‘The fog, though, doesn't slow the vessel down, as it skims across a calm sea at breakneck speed.’
   • ‘The sea was quite calm and the short boat ride very invigorating with the breeze blowing in our faces.’
   • ‘Rogue waves that occur on relatively calm seas are usually generated by storms hundreds of miles away.’
   • ‘The two ships floated easily together upon the calm sea.’
   • ‘The ship rocked slowly as the calm sea moved beneath them.’
   • ‘The waves were passing under us and the ocean was very calm.’
   • ‘The sun was not visible, and the sky was an oyster pink, the water of the calm sea similar in shade.’
   • ‘In the second decade Patinir established a formula for the painting of calm seas, while interest in depicting stormy seas came later.’
   • ‘The light winds and calm water conditions made fishing difficult at times, but large numbers of fish were seen moving.’
   • ‘The weekend event opened Saturday to light wind and calm water, and competitors took full advantage.’
   Synonyms

   tranquil, still, like a millpond, smooth, glassy, flat, motionless, waveless, unagitated, storm-free

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1The absence of strong emotions; calm feelings.

1. 1.1The absence of violent activity in a place.
   ‘the elections proceeded in an atmosphere of relative calm’
   in singular ‘an edgy calm reigned in the capital’
   More example sentences

   • ‘In some cases, the woman's fatal response occurs during a period of relative calm in the violence such as after a battering incident has already occurred.’
   • ‘After a period of relative calm, things are beginning to get hectic all over again for Allison.’
   • ‘For gamblers used to the relative calm of Las Vegas, the feeding frenzy in Macao can be a bit of a shock.’
   • ‘In the final analysis they want peace, calm, Zen and relaxation.’
   • ‘Thirty years of relative calm followed before the devastating Hurricane Andrew in 1992.’
   • ‘The dons are saying that they have restored peace to the area and calm will reign henceforth.’
   • ‘The attacks came amid a surge of border violence following months of calm.’
   • ‘Lunch passed in relative calm, for Charlie tried hard to do nothing that would upset her father in such a way that would send him off to the bedroom for another rest.’
   • ‘With the political deadlock, relative calm returned.’
   • ‘By May 1918, Finland had been restored to relative calm.’
   • ‘Forecasters warn, however, that this year's relative calm is no reason for coastal residents to drop their guard.’
   • ‘Eventually, relative calm is restored and negotiations resume.’
   • ‘Moments of relative calm often pre-empt more abrupt and ferocious constructions.’
   • ‘Several months of relative calm ensued, to the relief of the exhausted French.’
   • ‘The relative calm in the camps means the process of healing can begin.’
   • ‘The relative calm in the region was an irony not lost on some newspaper commentators.’
   • ‘Those measures led to a decade of relative calm and considerable socio-economic development.’
   • ‘This we were able to do in an atmosphere of calm and peace.’
   • ‘Talks to stabilize a shaky truce have led to relative calm interspersed with intense bouts of fighting and air strikes.’
   • ‘I took advantage of the relative calm and went to find the telephone.’
   Synonyms

   tranquillity, stillness, calmness, quiet, quietness, quietude, peace, peacefulness, serenity, silence, hush

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2The absence of wind.

1. 2.1Still air represented by force 0 on the Beaufort scale (less than 1 knot or 1 km/h).
2. 2.2often calmscount noun An area of the sea without wind.
   ‘flat calms’
   More example sentences

   • ‘The big challenge ahead is the notorious Doldrum belt, where the trade winds in the northern hemisphere cancel out those to the south, producing a vast area of squalls and calms where boats can stall for days.’
   • ‘The crew's morale bottomed out when the Wave Warrior hit the Doldrums, an area near the equator that is notorious for its calms and its light, shifting winds.’
   • ‘Ask any fisherman what his greatest enemies are and high on the list will come midges, flat calms and leaking waders.’
   • ‘With conditions ranging from the unpredictable calms of the doldrums to the gale force winds and icebergs of the southern oceans, the Global Challenge is certainly not one for the faint-hearted.’
   • ‘Conditions will range from the calms and energy-sapping heat of the northern hemisphere to the icebergs, storms and monumental seas of the southern oceans.’
   • ‘Vows made in a storm are forgotten in calms.’
   • ‘Chairat managed two races, encountering wind shifts of 180 degrees, alternating between storms and dead calms.’
   • ‘France sent a massive sixty-four-vessel armada to Louisbourg, only to have it disrupted en route by storms, calms, and disease.’
   • ‘He raved about the ocean, about storms and calms and sudden rain-squalls out of a blue sky, and somewhere a fair woman spinning silk with a crystal spindle.’
   • ‘We progress through days of calms, settling down into the sea's rhythm, sleeping on three-hour watches, ignoring the rasp of ropes in wooden blocks, the whistling kettle, the glow of the paraffin light in the saloon, or the biting cold.’
   • ‘Sailors in a dead calm know the awful loneliness of the open sea.’
   • ‘His early timekeepers were controlled by pendulums but, in anything but a flat calm, their going was most erratic.’
   • ‘He figured on raising nothing more than his drinking elbow on the boat unless there was a flat calm and the safety of a well protected harbour close by.’
   • ‘This time conditions were completely different with a flat calm and a rather dull day.’

1Make (someone) tranquil and quiet; soothe.

1. 1.1calm downno object (of a person) become tranquil and quiet.
   ‘gradually I calmed down and lost my anxiety’
   More example sentences

   • ‘It could be a matter of sitting in a quiet room, or walking in a park, or going to a church, and then gradually and gently calming down.’
   • ‘When the drugs take affect she calms down and stops yelling.’
   • ‘After calming down and finishing my homework, I went to bed.’
   • ‘I went down and sat next to her, my arm round her shoulders as she gradually calmed down again.’
   • ‘You will find as the mind calms down, the breath and heart will become quieter and calmer.’
   • ‘Ben really wants to go to another family during the week because he really calms down and enjoys coming home for the weekends.’
   • ‘He starts every episode all fired up about putting the shopkeeper away, but usually calms down by the end, even though everybody's dead by then.’
   • ‘As things look right now, Canadians better hope he calms down.’
   • ‘The officers bring him to the patrol car, and the family calms down, but still they ask the officers for an explanation.’
   • ‘After five minutes, and after he uses my tissues, he calms down.’
   • ‘After a while, she goes and after a while Harley calms down again.’
   • ‘The postal worker calms down and resumes stamping packages.’
   • ‘She calms down only when the boy's mother explains to her what kind of villainy her father played in their life.’
   • ‘After he talks for a while he generally calms down and we have a good chat.’
   • ‘Charles is still angry about it and according to his manager, won't talk to anyone until he calms down.’
   • ‘Getting through the early puppy phase was hard-going, particularly for mom, but thankfully he's calming down a lot now and mostly not acting quite so psychotic.’
   • ‘‘Look, I believe that women are not just sex objects,’ he continues, calming down slightly.’
   • ‘I was very worried over the weekend, but I'm calming down a bit.’
   • ‘I think I'm finally calming down a little bit, although I do still feel somewhat keyed up.’
   • ‘Issuing an apology after calming down, he said he had been deeply provoked and in the heat of the moment lost his temper.’
   Synonyms

   compose oneself, recover one's composure, regain one's composure, control oneself, recover one's self-control, regain one's self-control, pull oneself together, keep one's head, simmer down, cool down, cool off, take it easy

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(in Australia) the Department of Conservation and Land Management.