Meanings
plural placidities
- uncountableusuallyThe state of being placid; peacefulness.
The swift and indifferent placidity of that look troubled me.
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 2002 more examples
And how could she bear such behaviour! Composure with a witness! to look on, while repeated attentions were offering to another woman, before her face, and not resent it.—That is a degree of placidity, which I can neither comprehend nor respect.
1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume III, chapter 10Thus, in rapid succession, passed the thoughts of Rosilia, who, endeavouring to assume placidity, once more essayed to express her thanks to Mrs. Melbourne for her kind attentions,[…]
1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter XVI, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 207Synonyms: composure, peacefulness, serenity
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe state of being placid; peacefulness.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna disposition free from stress or emotion
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinplaciditās“mildness, placidity”
- Englishplacidity
From placid + -ity, from Latin placiditās (“mildness, placidity”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian спокойствие
- спокойствие (spokojstvie)state of being placid
Catalan placidesa, placiditat
- placidesastate of being placid
- placiditatstate of being placid
French placidité
- placiditéstate of being placid
Greek ημεράδα
- ημεράδα (imeráda)state of being placid
Italian placidità, placidezza
- placiditàstate of being placid
- placidezzastate of being placid
Latin placiditās
- placiditāsstate of being placid
Romanian placiditate
- placiditatestate of being placid
Russian споко́йствие
- споко́йствие (spokójstvije)state of being placid
Spanish placidez
- placidezstate of being placid
Turkish durgunluk, sakinlik
- durgunlukstate of being placid
- sakinlikstate of being placid
Ukrainian спо́кій
- спо́кій (spókij)state of being placid
Cite this entry
placidity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/placidity
“placidity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/placidity. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “placidity,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/placidity.
Source: placidity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.