TRANQUIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tranquil mean? 

• TRANQUIL (adjective)
  The adjective TRANQUIL has 2 senses:

1. (of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves

2. not agitated; without losing self-possession

  Familiarity information: TRANQUIL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TRANQUIL (adjective)

Comparative: tranquiler    / tranquiller   
Superlative: tranquilest    / tranquillest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

(of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves

Synonyms:

placid; quiet; smooth; still; tranquil; unruffled

Context example:

unruffled water

Similar:

calm ((of weather) free from storm or wind)

Derivation:

tranquility; tranquillity (a state of peace and quiet)

tranquillity (an untroubled state; free from disturbances)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not agitated; without losing self-possession

Synonyms:

calm; serene; tranquil; unagitated

Context example:

tranquil life in the country

Similar:

composed (serenely self-possessed and free from agitation especially in times of stress)

 Context examples 

She felt as if the spring would not pass without bringing a crisis, an event, a something to alter her present composed and tranquil state.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

An attachment, originally as tranquil as their tempers, was now become a mere name.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Elinor watched his countenance and saw its expression becoming more tranquil.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

There may be other lights within the week, and the English coast a less tranquil place!

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Therefore the shock she received can better be imagined than described, when he said in a perfectly tranquil tone, "Do you care to dance?"

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I advise you to live sinless, and I wish you to die tranquil.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She never stirred, but slept on and on in a deep, tranquil, life-giving, health-giving sleep.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Elizabeth seemed happy; my tranquil demeanour contributed greatly to calm her mind.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Although it required an effort to leave Miss Mills, I fell rather willingly into my aunt's pretence, as a means of enabling me to pass a few tranquil hours with Agnes.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“You take an eager interest in that gentleman's concerns,” said Darcy, in a less tranquil tone, and with a heightened colour.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)