serenity

英 [sə'renəti] 美 [sə'renəti]

n. 安静；镇定

◉词源

“Serenity”来源于拉丁语“serenitas”，意为“平静、晴朗”，由“serenus”（宁静、晴朗）演变而来。15世纪进入英语，最初用于描述天气的晴朗或安静，后来逐渐扩展为指内心或环境中的平和与安宁，常用来形容一种安详的状态。

◉外刊例句

·《The New Yorker》 (2025年6月10日)

The calmness of the lake eased her anxiety.

湖面的平静缓解了她的焦虑。

·《The Guardian》 (2024年11月15日)

His composed manner inspired confidence.

他沉稳的态度让人感到信任。

◉经典名著

·《简·爱》（Jane Eyre） by Charlotte Brontë (1847)

Her calmness helped to ease his anger.

她的冷静帮助他平息了怒火。

·《瓦尔登湖》（Walden） by Henry David Thoreau (1854)

The quiet of the forest brought back my peace of mind.

森林的宁静让我重拾内心的平静。

◉Usage Examples

(1) They couldn’t decide which was more impressive, his pale face or his calmness.

(2) I felt a deep sense of calm and tranquility while in the church.

(1) 他们无法判断哪一点更令人钦佩，是他苍白的脸色，还是他内心的平静。

(2) 在教堂里，我感受到一种深深的宁静与安详。

◉Usage Notes

Meditation aims to achieve a state of calmness, where your thoughts are still and peaceful. Use serenity to describe the quality or condition of being tranquil and at ease.

It's hard to imagine that the sea, battered by winds during a storm, can ever return to a state of calmness, where its surface appears like glass. Serenity comes from Latin "serenus" meaning "calm and peaceful," combined with the suffix "-itas." The first part of the word is the English adjective "serene," which means calm and peaceful. The Latin suffix corresponds to our English "-ity" and refers to "the quality or state of something."