Zen-likeadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective Zen-like mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adjective Zen-like. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the adjective Zen-like?
| 1900 | 0.0002 |
| 1910 | 0.0002 |
| 1920 | 0.0004 |
| 1930 | 0.0008 |
| 1940 | 0.0017 |
| 1950 | 0.0031 |
| 1960 | 0.0059 |
| 1970 | 0.012 |
| 1980 | 0.017 |
| 1990 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 0.024 |
| 2010 | 0.028 |
Where does the adjective Zen-like come from?
Earliest known use
1900s
The earliest known use of the adjective Zen-like is in the 1900s.
OED's earliest evidence for Zen-like is from before 1908, in the writing of E. F. Fenollosa.
Nearby entries
- zenith line, n.1585–
- zenith point, n.1585–
- zenith sector, n.1775–
- zenith sweep, n.1790–
- zenith telescope, n.1803–
- zenith tube, n.1825–
- zenithward, n., adv., & adj.1655–
- zenithwards, adv.1826–
- Zenker, n.¹1872–
- Zenker, n.²1894–
- Zen-like, adj.a1908–
- Zen master, n.1907–
- Zenned-out, adj.1968–
- Zennist, adj. & n.1904–
- zeno-, comb. form
- zenocentric, adj.1911–
- Zenocratically, adv.1588
- zenographic, adj.1853–
- zenographical, adj.1853–
- zenography, n.1890–
- Zenonian, adj.¹ & n.¹1654–
Meaning & use
- a1908–Reminiscent or characteristic of Zen Buddhism or its teachings; spec. meditative; calm, serene.Stressed as ˈZen-like.
- a1908
[A] Zen-like recognition that something characteristic and structural in every organic and inorganic form is friendly to man.
E. F. Fenollosa, Epochs of Chinese & Japanese Art (1912) vol. II. x. 7 - 1957
As for the examples of his ink work, are they not complete, finished poems? How Zen-like in essence.
College Art Journal vol. 16 184 - 1987
She appeared an island of almost zenlike calm in the sea of nervous neo-chimpanzees.
D. Brin, Uplift War 620 - 2015
His laconic attitude and his relaxed zen-like sense of being.
B. Beaty, Twelve-cent Archie 63
- evenOld English–Of the mind, a person's temper or temperament, etc.: free from perturbation; calm, tranquil, equable, unruffled.
- still1340–Free from commotion. Settled, unperturbed in mind. †Also, in mystical language, said of one that has attained to freedom from passion.
- unperturbeda1450–Not perturbed; untroubled, undisturbed.
- unmovedc1480–Not moved by emotion or excitement; unaffected, undisturbed; collected, calm.
- tranquil1481–Free from agitation or disturbance; calm, serene, placid, quiet, peaceful. Of the mind, or affairs.
- quietful1494–Full of quiet; peaceful, calm.
- lowna1500–Esp. of a person: gentle, calm, quiet.
- equal1529–1842Of a person’s demeanour, state of mind, etc.: even and calm; undisturbed, unruffled. Also of a person’s tone of voice: indicative of a calm demeanour…
- calma1568–Free from agitation or disturbance; quiet, still, tranquil, serene; without wind, not stormy. transferred and figurative of sound, utterance…
- calmya1586–Characterized by calm; tranquil, peaceful. figurative of thoughts, feelings, etc. (rare.)
- unpassionatea1586–Of a person, disposition, etc.: not susceptible to or influenced by passion or strong emotion; calm, self-possessed; (less neutrally) unfeeling…
- smartless1593–Free from pain or irritation; (also) that does not cause smarting.
- reposeful1594–Characterized by repose; having a calm or restful air; tranquil, quiet.
- dispassionate1595–Free from the influence of passion or strong emotion; calm, composed, cool; impartial. Said of persons, their faculties, and actions.
- recollected1595–Collected, composed, calm; (also) given up to or absorbed in religious contemplation. In attributive use.
- unaffectedc1595–Not affected or influenced in mind or feeling; untouched, unmoved. Also const. by, †to, †with.
- collected1601–Of a person or a person's mind, thoughts, etc.: calm, composed, self-controlled.
- unpassioned?1605–Free from or lacking in passion or strong emotion; dispassionate. Cf. unpassionate, adj.
- unpassionated1611–1850Dispassionate. Cf. unpassionate, adj.
- untouched1616–Not affected or prejudiced in mind or feeling; not biassed or moved by excitement or emotion; unmoved, undisturbed, calm.
- impassionate1621–Free from, or not governed by, passion; calm, dispassionate.
- composed1628–Having one's feelings or passions under control; calm and self-possessed, tranquil. The opposite of excited, distracted.
- dispassioneda1631–1761transitive. To free from passion. Chiefly in participial adj. disˈpassioned adj.
- tranquillous1638–56= tranquil, adj.
- slow1639–Without construction. Of a person, a person's temper, disposition, etc.: not easily roused; not readily moved to anger or impatience. Cf. quick, adj.…
- serene1640–Of a person, his or her mind, circumstances, etc.: Calm, tranquil, untroubled, unperturbed. Of the countenance: Expressive of inward calm, unruffled.
- soft-tempered1640–Having a pleasant and equable disposition; not easily angered or annoyed; good-tempered.
- dispassionated1647
- imperturbed1652–Not disturbed or agitated; esp. not mentally perturbed; calm, unexcited.
- unruffled1654–Not unduly affected by excitement or emotion; not agitated or irritated; calm, composed, unperturbed.
- reposing1655–That reposes; that is tranquil, calm, or (of a person or figure) recumbent; (also occasionally) that causes a person or thing to repose.
- equanimous1656–Even-tempered; not easily elated or depressed.
- perplacid1660Thoroughly placid or quiet.
- placate1662Composed; placid.
- cooled1682Made cool (in various senses). Formerly also: †made cold (obsolete).
- posed1693Composed, grave, sedate.
- sedate1693–Calm, quiet, composed; cool, sober, collected; undisturbed by passion or excitement. Of a person, his or her disposition, temper, deportment, actions.
- impassive1699–Deficient in, or void of, mental feeling or emotion; not susceptible to mental impressions; unimpressionable, apathetic; also, in good sense, not…
- uninflamed1714–figurative. Not emotionally warmed or excited.
- unexcited1735–Not mentally stirred or moved.
- unalarmed1756–(un-, prefix¹ affix 2.)
- unagitated1772–Not mentally disturbed; not stirred or excited by emotion or unrest.
- undistraught1773–(un-, prefix¹ affix 2b.)
- recollected1792Collected, composed, calm; (also) given up to or absorbed in religious contemplation. In predicative use.
- equable1796–Uniform, free from fluctuation or variation. Of the feelings, mind, temper, etc.: Even, not easily disturbed. Of a course of events: Free from…
- unfanned1816–(un-, prefix¹ affix 2.)
- unfussy1823–(un-, prefix¹ affix 1.)
- easy-going1828–Characterized by a gentle or tolerant approach; having a relaxed character.
- self-collect1830Self-possessed, composed. Cf. collected, adj. 3a. In self-collect. Obsolete. rare (archaic and poetic).
- unflurried1854–(un-, prefix¹ affix 2.)
- cool1855–Of a person or a personal attribute, quality, etc.: not affected by passion or emotion, dispassionate; controlled, deliberate, not hasty; calm…
- comfortable1856–Expressing or characterized by comfort; easy and tranquil; undisturbed; also colloquial of persons, suggestive of complacency, placidly…
- disimpassioned1860–Freed or free from passion; dispassionate.
- tremorless1869–Without tremor or excitement; untrembling, unshaken. Also figurative.
- unpressured1879–Not subject to emotional or mental pressure; relaxed, unconstrained.
- unrippled1883–Esp. of a body of water: not rippled, smooth.
- ice-cool1891–figurative. Lacking in enthusiasm or warmth; frosty, aloof; (also) steely, unruffled, intensely calm.
- unrattled1891–Not flustered or agitated; calm, composed.
- Zen-likea1908–Reminiscent or characteristic of Zen Buddhism or its teachings; spec. meditative; calm, serene.
- unrestless1919–Not restless; calm, peaceful.
- steadyish1924–Moderately or fairly steady.
- ataractic1941–Calm, serene.
- relaxed1958–Leisurely, at ease; free from tension, anxiety, or stress.
- nonplussed1960–Originally and chiefly U.S. Not disconcerted; unperturbed, unfazed.
- Zen1962–Reminiscent of Zen Buddhism. Also more generally: calm and relaxed; serene. Cf. sense A.3.
- loose1968–Of persons, etc.: relaxed or easy, calm; uninhibited. Esp. predic. (quasi-adv.) in to hang (or stay) loose. slang (originally U.S.).
- Zenned-out1968–Of a person: relaxed, serene, laid-back (frequently with the implication of obliviousness). Also of a place or situation: characterized by…
- downtempo1972–gen. Characterized by a slow pace; relaxed.
- mellowed1977–colloquial (originally U.S.). With out. Relaxed, informal. Cf. mellow, v. 4b.
- de-stressed1999–That is or has been de-stressed (in various senses of the verb); having had stress reduced or taken away; (of a person) relaxed.
Frequency
Zen-like typically occurs about 0.02 times per million words in modern written English.
Zen-like is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of Zen-like, adj., 1900–2010
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.
The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.
For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.
| Decade | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.0002 |
| 1910 | 0.0002 |
| 1920 | 0.0004 |
| 1930 | 0.0008 |
| 1940 | 0.0017 |
| 1950 | 0.0031 |
| 1960 | 0.0059 |
| 1970 | 0.012 |
| 1980 | 0.017 |
| 1990 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 0.024 |
| 2010 | 0.028 |
Frequency of Zen-like, adj., 2017–2024
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.
| Period | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 0.1 |
| 2019 | 0.096 |
| 2020 | 0.088 |
| 2021 | 0.082 |
| 2022 | 0.076 |
| 2023 | 0.074 |
| 2024 | 0.073 |