becalm

[ bih-kahm ]

verb (used with object)

1. to deprive (a sailing vessel) of the wind necessary to move it; subject to a calm:

   The schooner was becalmed in the horse latitudes for two weeks.

2. Archaic. to calm; pacify.

Word History and Origins

Origin of becalm¹

First recorded in 1550–60; be- + calm

Example Sentences

Instead Root becalmed the situation with flawless defence, perfect judgement and endless determination.

From BBC

On an imaginary island off the coast of some enemy state that exists only in fantasy, a navy is becalmed.

From New York Times

At key moments, the movie breaks with realism entirely, drawing us into its heroine’s subconscious with surreal yet oddly becalmed flourishes.

From Los Angeles Times

Distracted by the recent death of his wife — whose loss he medicates by reading his sappy scribblings aloud to a rapt writing group — Sanders seems drained and becalmed.

From New York Times

To watch him perform even as purely lyrical a song as Schubert’s “Meeresstille,” a setting of Goethe’s poem about a ship becalmed at sea, was to see a master actor at work.

From New York Times