Word a Day
sedate
What does sedate mean?
sedate (adjective): of a person or animal, or their behavior: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you pronounce sedate?
/sɪˈdeɪt/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does sedate come from?
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”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “sedate”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “sedate” mean?
self-directed; happening or acting without external cause or instigation; proceeding from natural feeling, temperament, or momentary impulse
Not quite: that's what spontaneous means.
worthy of, or causing, abhorrence, as a thing of evil omen; odious in the utmost degree; very hateful; detestable; loathsome; execrable
Not quite: that's what abominable means.
strangely unconventional; highly unusual and different from common experience, often in an extravagant, fantastic, and/or conspicuous way
Not quite: that's what bizarre means.
of a person or animal, or their behavior: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement
Right! That's what “sedate” means.
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