Definition

1. Verb (intransitive):
   • To become less agitated, excited, angry, or intense; to return to a peaceful or normal state after a period of disturbance.
2. Verb (transitive):
   • To cause someone or something to become less agitated, excited, angry, or intense; to soothe or pacify.

Usage and Examples

• Intransitive (to become calm):
  • Please calm down and tell me what happened.
  • The wind finally calmed down after the storm.
• Transitive (to make someone/something calm):
  • She tried to calm down the frightened child.
  • I need a minute to calm my nerves down.

Advanced Usage

• Imperative Use: Often used as a direct instruction or piece of advice.
  • Calm down! It's not as bad as it seems.
• Reflexive Use: Can imply making oneself calm.
  • He went for a walk to calm himself down.

Variants and Related Words

• Calm (adj/verb): The base form. As a verb, it is synonymous with 'calm down' (e.g., ).
• Settle down (phrasal verb): Often used interchangeably in the intransitive sense of becoming calm or establishing order.
• Cool off (phrasal verb): Specifically implies reducing anger or agitation.

Synonyms

• Soothe (transitive): To gently calm.
• Pacify (transitive): To bring peace to, often by satisfying demands.
• Quiet (down) (intransitive/transitive): To become or make quiet.
• Relax (intransitive/transitive): To become or make less tense.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Settle down: To become calm, quiet, or orderly; also to adopt a stable lifestyle.
  • The class took a long time to settle down after the fire drill.
• Cool down/off: To become less angry, hot, or excited.
  • You should cool off before you send that email.

Related Idioms

• Take a chill pill: (Slang, imperative) A humorous way to tell someone to calm down.
  • Dude, take a chill pill; everything's under control.
• Keep one's cool: To remain calm in a difficult situation.
  • Despite the pressure, she kept her cool.

Verb

1. become quiet or less intensive
   • the fighting lulled for a moment
2. make calm or still
   • quiet the dragons of worry and fear
3. become quiet or calm, especially after a state of agitation
   • After the fight both men need to cool off.
   • It took a while after the baby was born for things to settle down again.