sedate en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- /səˈdeɪt/ (General-American)
- /sɪˈdeɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
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.
Meanings
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Of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement.
Jane [Bennet] looked a little paler than usual, but more sedate than Elizabeth had expected. On the gentlemen's appearing, her colour increased; yet she received them with tolerable ease, and with a propriety of behaviour equally free from any symptom of resentment, or any unnecessary complaisance.
1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XI, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, pages 201–202:[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.
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 be sold by William Graves, […], →OCLC, page 27: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: […] Sands, Murray, and Cochran; sold by W. Gordon, C. Wright, J. Yair, […], published 1752, →OCLC, page 128:Then she saw that they were waving their handkerchiefs; dipping them up and down, with a curiously sedate, formal motion.
1989, Hilary Mantel, chapter 9, in Fludd (A Owl Book), New York: Henry Holt and Company, published 2000, →ISBN, page 149: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 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, […]
1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section VI”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC, page 131:A reel or fling of some sort was in progress; and the usually sedate Farfrae was in the midst of the other dancers in the costume of a wild Highlander, flinging himself about and spinning to the tune.
1886 May, Thomas Hardy, chapter XVI, in The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 201: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:Whosoever has observed that sedate and clerical bird, the rook, may perhaps have noticed that when he wings his way homeward towards nightfall, in a sedate and clerical company, two rooks will suddenly detach themselves from the rest, will retract their flight for some distance, and will there poise and linger; conveying to mere men the fancy that it is of some occult importance to the body politic, that this artful couple should pretend to have renounced connection with it.
1870 April–September, Charles Dickens, “A Dean, and a Chapter also”, in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1870, →OCLC, page 3:"How very peculiar. I never heard of such a thing before," he added a moment after, in a sedater tone.
1876, Florence Marryat, “‘Diamond Cut Diamond’”, in Her Father’s Name. […], volume III, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 105: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 […], →OCLC, page 5, lines 87-88: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, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, […], →OCLC, page 50:
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(broadly) 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:Facing the Parliament Buildings across James’ Bay arose a sedate stone and cement Post Office.
1942, Emily Carr, “Grown Up”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC; republished as The Book of Small (eBook; 0400201.txt), [Australia]: Project Gutenberg Australia, February 2004: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:The great hotel, with its look of sedate luxury, brooded massively there with people teeming about it.
1985, Doris Lessing, The Good Terrorist, London: Jonathan Cape […], →ISBN, page 352:
- (broadly) Of writing: not emotional; calm, composed.
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(broadly, obsolete) 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 but among the Platonical Idea's.
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. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC, page 74:[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 [Sheldonian] Theater, page iv:
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(broadly, obsolete) 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] Osborn and T[homas] Longman […], published 1728, →OCLC, pages 304–305:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most sedate | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| sedatest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more sedate | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| sedater | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
saditty · unsedate · sedately · sedateness
Relateds
Synonyms
weighty · thoughtful · staid · roolie · peaceful · pacific · serious · still · unruffled · saturnine · solemncholy · somber · laid-back · quiet · equanimous · demure · collected · sedate · quiescent · steady · unobtrusive · austere · unfazed · imperturbable · cool-headed · sweer · collected · untumultuous · sedate · peaceable · equable · placid · staid · composed · unflappable · equanimitable · earnest · frightful · level-headed · sad · sage · serene · cool · unruffable · lack-laughter · relaxed · even-tempered · calm · placid · grievous · unperturbable · unexcited · even-keeled · phlegmatic · even-minded · sombre · solemn · unflustered · stern · sober · grave · pacate · tranquil · weightsome · mellow · unruffled
Translations (13)
ota آغر (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · ru споко́йный (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · bg уравновесен (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · ru степе́нный (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · la sēdātus (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · fi tyyni (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · ru уравнове́шенный (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · sk pokojný (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · fi hillitty (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · ga státúil (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · fi rauhallinen (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · bg спокоен (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement) · ota دولك (of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement)