sedate
Syllables: sed·ateUK/sɪˈdeɪt//səˈdeɪt/
sedate adjective: of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement.
Adjective
sedate (comparative more sedate or sedater, superlative most sedate or sedatest)
- Of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement.
- [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...1642, Ri[chard] Watson, A Sermon Touching Schisme, Lately Preached at St. Maries in Cambridge, [Cambridge, Cambridgeshire]: […] Roger Daniel, printer to the Universitie of Cambridge […]; [a]nd are to...
- 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, […]1693, [John Locke], “§162”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC, page 100
- Antonyms:
- unsedate
- Of an object, particularly a building: not overly ornate or showy; not having a strong colour or design.
- Sometimes she passed down avenues of sedate mansions, soberly numbered 'one,' 'two,' 'three,' and so on right up to two or three hundred, each the copy of the other, with two pillars and six steps and a pair of curtains neatly drawn […] until her mind was dizzied with the monotony.1928, Virginia Woolf, chapter 6, in Orlando: A Biography, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, page 275
- The shiny carriages of Yankee officers' wives and newly rich Carpetbaggers splashed mud on the dilapidated buggies of the townspeople, and gaudy new homes of wealthy strangers crowded in among the sedate dwellings of older citizens.1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter XXXVII, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published June 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 657
- Synonyms:
- unobtrusive
- Antonyms:
- obtrusive
- Of writing: not emotional; calm, composed.
- Of one's mind, thoughts, etc.: calm, sober.
- [A] Scepticiſm, that's the only vvay to Science. But yet this is ſo difficult in the impartial and exact performance, that it may be vvell reckon'd among the bare Poſsibilities, vvhich never commence into a Futurity: It requiring ſuch a free, ſedate, and intent minde, as it may be no vvhere found...1661, Joseph Glanvill, “A Third Reason of Our Ignorance and Error, viz. the Impostures and Deceits of Our Senses. […]”, in The Vanity of Dogmatizing: Or Confidence in Opinions. […], London: […] E....
- [W]e ſhall leave them to their ovvn ſedate and compoſed Reflections.1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “The Preface”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the...
- Of an object: not moving; at rest, quiet, still; also, moving smoothly and steadily.
- [T]he river vvhich before vvas ſtraight, ſhe [Nitocris] made crooked vvith great vvindings, that it might be more ſedate and leſs apt to overflovv.a. 1728 (date written), Isaac Newton, “Of the Two Contemporary Empires of the Babylonians and Medes”, in The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], and J[ohn]...
Verb
sedate (third-person singular simple present sedates, present participle sedating, simple past and past participle sedated)
- To give (a person) a sedative to calm them or put them to sleep; to tranquilize.
- Though he may have been sedated, he knew I was there, knew who I was, knew I was talking to him.1986–1989 (date written), J[ohn] M[axwell] Coetzee, “Part II”, in Age of Iron, London: Martin Secker & Warburg, published September 1990, →OCLC, page 73
- I need something to sedate me / But I can't afford the high / Give me something to help me escape2012 January 25, “Smells Like a Freakshow”, in Black Waltz, performed by Avatar, Göteborg, Sweden: Gain Music Entertainment, →OCLC
- To make (someone or something) calm or tranquil; to assuage, to calm, to soothe.
- Did matter contend with matter, what confusion would it produce? whilst the mind and soul of man sedate the hostility, and bring it to due obedience, as being a power abstracted, a distinct and immaterial principle.a. 1707 (date written), John Evelyn, “Whether there be a Deity and Supreme Being? That there is, […]”, in The History of Religion. A Rational Account of the True Religion. […], volume I, London...
- Synonyms:
- tranquilize
sedate meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
sedate in Tamil
- உணர்ச்சி உள்ளடங்கிய எழுச்சியற்ற, உலைவற்ற
sedate in Urdu
- سنجیدہ
sedate in Bengali
- শান্ত, ধীর, স্থির
sedate in Malayalam
- മയങ്ങാനുള്ള മരുന്നു നല്കുക, മരുന്നു നല്കി ശാന്തമാക്കുക, മരുന്നുനൽകി ശമിപ്പിക്കുക
More languagesFewer languages
- sedate in Kannada
- ಶಾಂತವಾದ, ಗಂಭೀರವಾದ, ನಿರುದ್ವೇಗದ, ಸ್ತಿಮಿತವಾದ
- sedate in Persian
- آرام کردن ârâm kardan
Examples of sedate in a sentence
- Virgil vvas of a quiet, ſedate Temper; Homer vvas violent, impetuous, and full of Fire.1700, [John] Dryden, “Preface”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- But vvho like thee can boaſt a Soul sedate, / So firmly Proof to all the Shocks of Fate?1715, Homer, “Book 3”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […]...
- The animadverſions of critics are commonly ſuch as may eaſily provoke the ſedateſt vvriter to ſome quickneſs of reſentment and aſperity of reply.1751 December 3 (Gregorian calendar), Samuel Johnson, “No. 176. Friday, November 23. 1751.”, in The Rambler, volume VII, Edinburgh: […]...
- He vvas about forty-eight—of a ſedate look, ſomething approaching to gravity.1768, Mr. Yorick [pseudonym; Laurence Sterne], “Le Patisser Versailles”, in A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, volume II...
Synonyms of sedate
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- equanimous
- equanimitable
- even-keeled
- even-minded
- even-tempered
- imperturbable
- laid-back
- level-headed
- mellow
- pacific
- peaceable
- peaceful
- phlegmatic
- quiescent
- quiet
- relaxed
- roolie
- serene
- still
- tranquil
- unexcited
- unfazed
- unflappable
- unflustered
- unperturbable
- unruffable
- untumultuous
- austere
- frightful
- demure
Antonyms
Forms of sedate
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more sedate |
| comparative | sedater |
| superlative | most sedate |
| superlative | sedatest |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | sedates |
| present participle | sedating |
| past participle | sedated |
| past | sedated |
Origin of sedate
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.
Words formed from sedate
Words that rhyme with sedate
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- mate
- late
- bate
- create
- date
- relate
- vibrate
- wait
- deflate
- fate
- migrate
- rebate
- rotate
- strait
- supererogate
- translocate
- await
- eight
- freight
- skate
- alternate
- collate
- debate
- inflate
- update
- compensate
- delate
- dilate
- fixate
- grate
- Haight
- hate
- implicate
- innate
- intercalate
- locate
- mandate
- negate
- overweight
- pinnate
- quadrate
- tate
- vacate
- aerate
- calibrate
- castrate
- conflate
- crate
Questions about sedate
- What does sedate mean?
- Sedate means of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement.
- What is sedate in Tamil?
- Sedate in Tamil is உணர்ச்சி உள்ளடங்கிய எழுச்சியற்ற, உலைவற்ற. See Sedate meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use sedate in a sentence?
- Virgil vvas of a quiet, ſedate Temper; Homer vvas violent, impetuous, and full of Fire.
- What part of speech is sedate?
- Sedate can be an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce sedate?
- Sedate is pronounced /sɪˈdeɪt/ (UK).
Words near sedate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sedate (page history and authors); sedate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sedate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sedate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sedate (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sedate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-sedate.ogg.
Cite this entry: “sedate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sedate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.