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Definition of calm noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

calm

noun
 
/kɑːm/
 
/kɑːm/
[countable, uncountable]Idioms
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  1. a quiet and peaceful time or situation
    • The police appealed for calm.
    • Community leaders have called for calm.
    • The bombings ended a period of relative calm.
    • Many children regarded their school as an oasis of calm away from the war-torn streets.
    • Calm had been restored to the capital.
    • calm of something the calm of a summer evening
    Extra Examples
    • After the bombing, an uneasy calm settled on the city.
    • The calm was shattered by the sound of an explosion.
    • The government appealed for calm after the riots broke out.
    • An uneasy calm descended on the streets.
    • The elections took place in an atmosphere of relative calm.
    • We sat together for a while in the calm of the evening.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • apparent
    • inner
    • uneasy
    verb + calm
    • appeal for
    • call for
    • restore
    calm + verb
    • descend
    • settle
    phrases
    • a period of calm
    See full entry
  2. a time when there is no wind
    • They landed in a flat calm.
  3. a quiet and relaxed manner
    • Her previous calm gave way to terror.
    • Alex spoke with studied calm.
    Extra Examples
    • ‘I'm calling the police!’ he stated with deadly calm.
    • He struggled to maintain his calm as they waited.
    • She felt not fear, but a kind of dead calm.
    • Under his apparent calm lay real anxiety.
    • With a forced calm she said, ‘How do you know?’
    • the pursuit of inner calm
    Which Word? calm / calmnesscalm / calmness
    • The noun calm is usually used to talk about a peaceful time or situation:
      • There was a short period of uneasy calm after the riot.
      It can also be used to describe a person’s manner:
      • She spoke with icy calm.
      Calmness is usually used to talk about a person:
      • We admired his calmness under pressure.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • apparent
    • inner
    • uneasy
    verb + calm
    • appeal for
    • call for
    • restore
    calm + verb
    • descend
    • settle
    phrases
    • a period of calm
    See full entry
  4. Word Originlate Middle English: via one of the Romance languages from Greek kauma ‘heat (of the day)’.
Idioms
the calm before the storm
  1. a calm time immediately before an expected period of violent activity or argument
See calm in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
trait
noun
 
 
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