peaceful

peaceful
peaceable, peaceful
In general, peaceable means ‘disposed to peace, not quarrelsome’ and refers primarily to people or activities:

• The visitor from beyond the planets would obtain the impression that the Earth is a very peaceable place —New Scientist, 1991.

The adverb peaceably occurs almost as often as the adjective:

• On the whole they lived peaceably and had lots of fellowship together —W. Green, 1988.

The more common word peaceful means ‘characterized by peace, tranquil’ and the notion is more actual than potential:

• The meal was peaceful, but when it was over the doors burst open and in surged a crowd of painters and models who hadn't been invited —J. Rose, 1990.

It can be used to describe a person as well as a situation:

• Sometimes I felt plain scared. I am a peaceful man. I always felt we were a target —Guardian, 2007.

The meanings of peaceable and peaceful overlap rather more with the adverb peacefully:

• The siege ended peacefully and Yacoub was later charged with taking hostages and with illegal possession of a firearm —Keesings, 1990.


Modern English usage. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу
Synonyms:
, / , , , , , / , , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Peaceful — Peace ful, a. 1. Possessing or enjoying peace; not disturbed by war, tumult, agitation, anxiety, or commotion; quiet; tranquil; as, a peaceful time; a peaceful country; a peaceful end. [1913 Webster] 2. Not disposed or tending to war, tumult or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • peaceful — UK US /ˈpiːsfəl/ adjective ► not involving war or violence: peaceful demonstration/protest/resolution »People have the right to a peaceful demonstration …   Financial and business terms

  • Peaceful B&B — (Luodong,Тайвань) Категория отеля: Адрес: 166 Fu Shin Rd. Dong Shan, 26941 Luodong, Та …   Каталог отелей

  • peaceful — c.1300, inclined to peace, friendly, from PEACE (Cf. peace) + FUL (Cf. ful). Meaning tranquil, calm is from mid 14c. In reference to nonviolent methods of effecting social change, it is attested from 1876. Peaceful coexistence (1920) originally… …   Etymology dictionary

  • peaceful — index dispassionate, harmonious, neutral, nonmilitant, peaceable, placid Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • peaceful — 1 *calm, tranquil, serene, placid, halcyon Analogous words: *soft, gentle, mild: *still, stilly, quiet, silent, noiseless Antonyms: turbulent 2 *pacific, peaceable, pacifist, pacifistic, irenic Analogous words: compo …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • peaceful — [adj] friendly, serene all quiet, amicable, at peace, bloodless, calm, collected, composed, constant, easeful, equable, free from strife*, gentle, halcyon, harmonious, irenic, level, mellow, neutral, neutralist, nonbelligerent, nonviolent, on… …   New thesaurus

  • peaceful — ► ADJECTIVE 1) free from disturbance; calm. 2) not involving war or violence. 3) inclined to avoid conflict. DERIVATIVES peacefully adverb peacefulness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • peaceful — [pēs′fəl] adj. 1. not quarrelsome; peaceable 2. characterized by peace; free from disturbance or disorder; calm; quiet; tranquil 3. of or characteristic of a time of peace SYN. CALM peacefully adv. peacefulness n …   English World dictionary

  • peaceful — [[t]pi͟ːsfʊl[/t]] ♦♦♦ 1) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n Peaceful activities and situations do not involve war. He has attempted to find a peaceful solution to the Ossetian conflict... They emphasised that their equipment was for peaceful and not military… …   English dictionary

  • peaceful — peace|ful S3 [ˈpi:sfəl] adj ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(quiet/calm)¦ 2¦(no war)¦ 3¦(not liking violence)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1.) ¦(QUIET/CALM)¦ a peaceful time, place, or situation is quiet and calm without any worry or excitement ▪ We had a peaceful afternoon without the… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”