serene
/səˈriːn/ (bre, ipa) · /səˈriːn/ (ame, ipa) · /sə-ˈrēn/ (ame, mw)
serene — adjective
- serenepositive
- more serenecomparative
- most serenesuperlative
1. looking or feeling deeply peaceful, with no sign of worry, anger, or rush in the
looking or feeling deeply peaceful, with no sign of worry, anger, or rush in the face or manner.
Salma sat by the window with a serene smile after finishing her last exam.
attributive: serene + noun (smile, face, expression)
Even when the manager shouted in the meeting, Eitan remained serene and kept taking notes.
predicative: remain/stay serene under pressure
The old monk had such a serene face that the children stopped running and began to whisper.
Camila looked serene as she rocked her baby to sleep in the quiet living room.
文法句型
serene + noun
be serene
用法筆記
Typically describes a person's face, voice, smile, or whole manner. Often contrasts with a stressful situation around the subject — patterns like 'stayed serene while…' or 'serene despite…' are common.
常見錯誤
2. of weather, sky, or water — clear, still, and showing no sign of an approaching
of weather, sky, or water — clear, still, and showing no sign of an approaching storm.
After three days of heavy rain, Trang woke to a serene blue sky above the harbour.
serene + sky/sea/water (literary register)
The fishing boats slid out across the serene sea just before sunrise.
Élise painted the serene lake every morning while a thin mist still hung above the water.
The pilot reported serene weather the whole way from Lisbon to Madeira.
文法句型
serene + noun (sky, sea, water, weather)
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 by what it describes: sense 2 only applies to weather or bodies of water, never people. If you can swap in 'cloudless and still' and the sentence still works, you are in sense 2.
常見錯誤
serene — noun
1. in old or literary writing, a wide stretch of calm — usually the sky, the sea, o
in old or literary writing, a wide stretch of calm — usually the sky, the sea, or a feeling of deep inner peace.
The poet wrote of the blue serene that arched above Diya's childhood village.
literary: 'the [adjective] serene' = expanse of sky/sea
Christopher stared into the moonlit serene and forgot, for a moment, about the war.
Feng's piano music carried the listener into a kind of serene that words could not reach.
Old sea charts marked that bay as a serene where storms rarely entered.
- serenity
the standard modern noun; use this in normal writing
- tranquility
similar abstract noun; everyday register
- calm
plain everyday word for the same idea
- tumult
loud, confused disturbance
文法句型
the serene of + noun
用法筆記
Almost never used in modern speech or journalism. You will only meet this noun in poetry, hymns, or 19th-century novels. Modern writers use 'serenity' instead.