First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
1serene
adjective se·rene \sə-ˈrēn\
: calm and peaceful
Full Definition of SERENE
1
a : clear and free of storms or unpleasant change <serene skies> b : shining bright and steady <the moon, serene in glory — Alexander Pope>
2
: august —used as part of a title <His Serene Highness>
3
: marked by or suggestive of utter calm and unruffled repose or quietude <a serene smile>
— se·rene·ly adverb
— se·rene·ness \-ˈrēn-nəs\ noun
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Examples of SERENE
- Between the two Azorean blue belfries of Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, a serene statue of the Madonna gazes out at the harbor, cradling a small boat in her arm. —Anita Diamant, National Geographic Traveler, September 2005
- And Breeders' Cup day was anything but serene. The weather was … cold and often gray, with a 20-mile-an-hour headwind scouring the backstretch. —Lorna Lentini, New York Times, 14 July 2002
- For Ben and me, in Omaha in 1961, our lives were untroubled and serene. After six years of marriage, we seemed to have reached the happy ending to the national American Dream. —Lois Mark Stalvey, The Education of a WASP, (1989) 1998
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Origin of SERENE
Middle English, from Latin serenus clear, cloudless, untroubled
Related to SERENE
Synonym Discussion of SERENE
calm, tranquil, serene, placid, peaceful mean quiet and free from disturbance. calm often implies a contrast with a foregoing or nearby state of agitation or violence <the protests ended, and the streets were calm again>. tranquil suggests a very deep quietude or composure <the tranquil beauty of a formal garden>. serene stresses an unclouded and lofty tranquillity <watched the sunset of a serene summer's evening>. placid suggests an undisturbed appearance and often implies a degree of complacency <remained placid despite the criticism>. peaceful implies a state of repose in contrast with or following strife or turmoil <grown peaceful in old age>.
Rhymes with SERENE
Andine, arene, baleen, beguine, Benin, benzene, benzine, Bernstein, between, black bean, boreen, bovine, broad bean, buckbean, caffeine, canteen, carbine, careen, chlorine, chopine, chorine, citrine, codeine, colleen, convene, cotquean, cuisine, dasheen, dauphine, demean, demesne, dry-clean, dudeen, eighteen, Essene, e-zine, fanzine, fascine, fifteen, flavine, fluorine, fourteen, gamine, gangrene, glassine, gyrene, Hellene, hoatzin, horsebean, houseclean, khamsin, Ladin, lateen, latrine, Lublin, machine, malines, marine, moline, moreen, morphine, nankeen, naphthene, Nicene, nineteen, nongreen, obscene, offscreen, on-screen, patine, piscine, poteen, praline, preteen, pristine, propine, Rabin, ratteen, ravine, red bean, routine, saline, saltine, Salween, sardine, sateen, scalene, shagreen, shebeen, siren, Sistine, sixteen, Slovene, snap bean, soybean, spalpeen, string bean, strychnine, subteen, sunscreen, Szczecin, tacrine, takin, taurine, terrene, terrine, thirteen, Tolkien, tontine, tureen, umpteen, unclean, undine, unseen, vaccine, vitrine, wax bean, white bean, windscreen, yestreen, Yibin, zechin
2serene
noun se·rene \sə-ˈrēn\
Definition of SERENE
1
archaic : a serene condition or expanse (as of sky, sea, or light)
2
archaic : serenity, tranquility
Examples of SERENE
- Oft of one wide expanse had I been told / That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne: /Yet did I never breathe its pure serene / Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: … —John Keats, “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer,” 1816
Origin of SERENE
(see 1serene)
First Known Use: 1644
SERENENESS Defined for Kids
serene
adjective se·rene \sə-ˈrēn\
Definition of SERENE for Kids
1
: being calm and quiet <a serene manner>
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