serene

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /səˈɹi(ː)n/ See IPA manual

Freq #15589

Meanings

1

adj
Calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

She stayed serene and smiled gently at her nervous students.
2

adj
Completely clear and fine, especially of the sky.

They sailed under serene skies and a bright blue sea.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · calm, peaceful, and... calm composed peaceful tranquil

Word family

Forms serenerserenest

Derived forms serenenessserenifyserenityserenizeunserene

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

serene composure
calm self-control that appears peaceful and untroubled

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Serene comes from Latin serenus, meaning “calm, clear, or fair,” and entered English in the later Middle Ages. Serenade and serenity derive from the same Latin source.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French serein, from Old French serein (“evening”), from Vulgar Latin *serānum, from substantive use of sērum, neuter of sērus (“late”) + -ānus suffix.

serein Old French *serānum la-vul

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# serene

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /səˈɹi(ː)n/
**Frequency rank:** 15589

## Meanings
1. Calm, peaceful, and untroubled.
2. Completely clear and fine, especially of the sky.

## Examples
- She stayed serene and smiled gently at her nervous students.
- They sailed under serene skies and a bright blue sea.

## Derived Forms
- sereneness
- serenify
- serenity
- serenize
- unserene

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: serein
- Root: *serānum

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French serein, from Old French serein (“evening”), from Vulgar Latin *serānum, from substantive use of sērum, neuter of sērus (“late”) + -ānus suffix.

## AI Etymology
Serene is borrowed from Middle French serein, from Old French serein (“evening”), from Vulgar Latin *serānum, from substantive use of sērum, neuter of sērus (“late”) + -ānus suffix. Important forms in the word's history include Old French serein, la-vul *serānum. In current use it includes senses such as Calm, peaceful, and untroubled and Completely clear and fine, especially of the sky.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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