Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Undisturbed by tumult or disorder; calm or quiet.
  • adjective Not agitated physically; not disturbed.
  • adjective Not easily upset or excited; mild or complacent: synonym: calm.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Gentle; quiet; undisturbed; equable; serene; calm; unruffled; peaceful; mild.
  • Synonyms Tranquil, Serene, etc. See calm.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective calm and quiet; peaceful; tranquil

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not easily irritated
  • adjective (of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin placidus, from placēre, to please; see plāk- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin placidus ("peaceful, calm, placid"), from placeō ("please, satisfy").

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Examples

  • '_From that placid aspect and meek regard, _' on the ground that; '_meek regard_ conveys no new idea to _placid aspect_.'

    Note Book of an English Opium-Eater Thomas De Quincey 1822

  • The little girl studied the room, her expression placid.

    The Master Colm Tóibín 2004

  • The lawyers would address the House at the Bar and lay down, in placid, conversational style, the facts of the case and the points of law on which he relied for judgment.

    Daily Life in the British Parliament: The House of Lords | Edwardian Promenade 2009

  • Her gaze was fixed on Svenson, her expression placid, amused.

    The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters Dahlquist, Gordon 2006

  • Her gaze was fixed on Svenson, her expression placid, amused.

    The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters Dahlquist, Gordon 2006

  • He sat calmly smoking a cigarette, his eyes upturned in placid and Oriental contemplation of the heavens.

    Tish 1916

  • Next morning between five and six I was safe seated on my luggage before the door of Maryland Street (Liverpool), smoking a cigar in placid silence till the silent home should awaken, which it somehow did unexpectedly before my cigar was done.

    Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle 1883

  • All slept -- all England slept; and from my window, commanding a wide prospect of the star-illumined country, I saw the land stretched out in placid rest.

    II.7 1826

  • The city looked dark to the south, while numerous lights along the near shores, and the beautiful aspect of the banks reposing in placid night, the waters keenly reflecting the heavenly lights, gave to this beauteous river a dower of loveliness that might have characterized a retreat in Paradise.

    II.2 1826

  • The couple don't blame the driver for the loss of their little boy who they described as a placid yet cheeky kid.

    Stuff.co.nz - Stuff By CHLOE JOHNSON 2010

Comments

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  • The ant has made himself illustrious

    Through constant industry industrious.

    So what?

    Would you be calm and placid

    If you were full of formic acid?

    -Ogden Nash

    May 23, 2007

  • Thanks, trivet! Always loved that little poem.

    May 24, 2007