sedate
/səˈdeɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.76 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement.
adj
Of an object, particularly a building: not overly ornate or showy; not having a strong colour or design.
Example Sentences
- "[I]f they vvill raſhly huddle up all together, and not admitting the leaſt check of a ſedate judgement, publiſh onely the impetuous dictates of their indiſcreet and too precipitant fancie, either yielding nothing, or ſuffering a licentious practice of all things; vve muſt put them in mind of that State Maxime, vvhich is too often made good by the ruine of a Church, […] Dangerous is that ſeverity, impious that bounty, vvhere to a Chriſtian militant either all things are granted, or nothing permitted in the doubtfull and diſtracted condition of a Church."
- "But vvhen […] vvilfulneſs [in a child] evidently ſhevvs it ſelf, and makes Blovvs neceſſary, I think the Chaſtiſement ſhould be a little more Sedate and a little more Severe, […]"
- "Virgil vvas of a quiet, ſedate Temper; Homer vvas violent, impetuous, and full of Fire."
- "But the Matter vvas yet infinitely vvorſe (I record it vvith Tears) vvhen he proceeded to the Embroidery: For, being Clumſy by Nature, and of Temper, Impatient; vvithal, beholding Millions of Stitches, that required the niceſt Hand, and ſedateſt Conſtitution, to extricate; in a great Rage, he tore off the vvhole Piece, Cloth and all, […]"
- "But vvho like thee can boaſt a Soul sedate, / So firmly Proof to all the Shocks of Fate?"
- "The animadverſions of critics are commonly ſuch as may eaſily provoke the ſedateſt vvriter to ſome quickneſs of reſentment and aſperity of reply."
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English sedate (“not painful or sore”), and directly from its etymon Latin sēdātus (“calm, quiet, composed”), participial adjective from sēdō (“to allay, appease, calm, settle; to end, stop”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”). Compare English -ate (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘characterized by [the thing specified]’). The verb is partly derived from sēdāt-, a participial stem of sēdō (verb sense 2—“to make (someone or something) calm”; see above), and partly a back-formation from sedation (verb sense 1—“to give (a person) a sedative”) + English -ate (suffix forming verbs). It is first attested slightly later than the adjective.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /səˈdeɪt/
- British English: /sɪˈdeɪt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more sedate (comparative)
sedater (comparative)
most sedate (superlative)
sedatest (superlative)
sedates (present, singular)
sedating (participle, present)
sedated (participle, past)
sedated (past)