PLACID

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does placid mean? 

• PLACID (adjective)
  The adjective PLACID has 2 senses:

1. (of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves

2. not easily irritated

  Familiarity information: PLACID used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLACID (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves

Synonyms:

placid; quiet; smooth; still; tranquil; unruffled

Context example:

unruffled water

Similar:

calm ((of weather) free from storm or wind)

Derivation:

placidness (a feeling of calmness; a quiet and undisturbed feeling)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not easily irritated

Synonyms:

equable; even-tempered; good-tempered; placid

Context example:

remained placid despite the repeated delays

Similar:

good-natured (having an easygoing and cheerful disposition)

Derivation:

placidity (a disposition free from stress or emotion)

placidness (a feeling of calmness; a quiet and undisturbed feeling)

 Context examples 

On her face, I saw immediately the placid and sweet expression of the lady whose picture had looked at me downstairs.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

That sky with its high and light clouds which are sure to melt away as the day waxes warm—this placid and balmly atmosphere?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Jo was determined to have it out now, and tried to look quite placid, though she quaked a little after her bold speech.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I contemplated the lake: the waters were placid; all around was calm; and the snowy mountains, “the palaces of nature,” were not changed.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

A very placid and respectable lady, who seemed quite innocent of any secret, and a portrait which showed me that she had two younger sisters.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In this more placid state of things William reentered, followed not far behind by his mother and Betsey.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

For an immeasurable period, lapped in the rippling of placid centuries, I enjoyed and pondered my tremendous flight.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

They had left Aiguillon and the Garonne far to the south, and rode now by the tranquil Lot, which curves blue and placid through a gently rolling country.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Neither rocked any more, and they seemed to have fallen into placid meditation.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The clue to this puzzle came from the variation in calculated gas temperatures – they were high when the lava lake was placid, and low when it was bubbling furiously.

(Size matters: if you are a bubble of volcanic gas, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)