Tranquilize

//ˈtɹæŋkwɪlaɪz// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To calm (a person or animal) or put them to sleep using a tranquilizer dart. transitive

    "The escaped lion was finally tracked down, tranquilized, and safely returned to the zoo."

  2. 2
    cause to be calm or quiet as by administering a sedative to wordnet
  3. 3
    To make (something or someone) tranquil. literary, transitive

    "1779, Frances Burney, Evelina, Dublin: Price, Corcoran et al., Volume 2, Letter 14, p. 87, […] with words of sweetest kindness and consolation, he soothed and tranquilised me."

  4. 4
    make calm or still wordnet
  5. 5
    To become tranquil. intransitive, obsolete, rare

    "Seest thou not, that this unseasonable gravity is admitted to quell the palpitations of this unmanageable heart? But still it will go on with its boundings. I’ll try, as I ride in my chariot, to tranquillize."

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    To dart (a person or animal) with a sedative transitive

    "The bear should go down several minutes after being tranquilized."

Synonyms

All synonyms
calmappeasecalmcalm downsedatesedate

Antonyms

All antonyms
madden

Example

More examples

"The escaped lion was finally tracked down, tranquilized, and safely returned to the zoo."

Etymology

From Middle French tranquiliser. Analyzable as tranquil + -ize.

Related phrases

calm down

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.