calmed

Calmed is the past tense and past participle of the verb calm. It denotes the act of reducing agitation, fear, or activity, or the resulting state of quiet or composure. The sense can apply to people, emotions, environments, or events, indicating that something has become or was made calm.

As a transitive verb, calmed takes a direct object: one can calm a crowd, calm a frightened child, or calm the nerves of someone anxious. Intransitively, it can describe a change in state: The crowd calmed after the announcement, and the sea calmed following the storm. The form also appears in negative or interrogative contexts (The audience did not calm quickly; Had the situation calmed by then?).

Calmed is commonly used in perfect tenses: The speaker has calmed the room, or the waters had calmed by morning. It is frequently followed by adverbs or adverbial phrases such as down, completely, or significantly (calmed down, calmed somewhat).

In everyday usage, calmed often implies a reduction of high arousal, tension, or chaos, rather than a complete disappearance of all anxiety or noise. It is closely related to the adjective calm and the noun calmness; related verbs include calm, soothe, quiet, and placate, each with slightly different nuances.

See also: calm, calming, calmness, calm down. Calmed is a standard form in written and spoken English for describing actions that produce quiet or composure, or states in which quiet has been achieved.