Zen-like, adj.

zen-like
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zen-like_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2006

# 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?

About 0.02occurrences per million words in modern written English

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

1. zenith line, n. 1585–
2. zenith point, n. 1585–
3. zenith sector, n. 1775–
4. zenith sweep, n. 1790–
5. zenith telescope, n. 1803–
6. zenith tube, n. 1825–
7. zenithward, n., adv., & adj. 1655–
8. zenithwards, adv. 1826–
9. Zenker, n.¹ 1872–
10. Zenker, n.² 1894–
11. Zen-like, adj.a1908–
12. Zen master, n. 1907–
13. Zenned-out, adj. 1968–
14. Zennist, adj. & n. 1904–
15. zeno-, comb. form
16. zenocentric, adj. 1911–
17. Zenocratically, adv. 1588
18. zenographic, adj. 1853–
19. zenographical, adj. 1853–
20. zenography, n. 1890–
21. Zenonian, adj.¹ & n.¹ 1654–

## Meaning & use

1. a1908–
   Reminiscent or characteristic of Zen Buddhism or its teachings; spec. meditative; calm, serene.
   Stressed as ˈZen-like.
   1. 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
   2. 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
   3. 1987

      > She appeared an island of almost zenlike calm in the sea of nervous neo-chimpanzees.

      D. Brin, Uplift War 620
   4. 2015

      > His laconic attitude and his relaxed zen-like sense of being.

      B. Beaty, Twelve-cent Archie 63
   Buddhism
   1. even Old English–
      Of the mind, a person's temper or temperament, etc.: free from perturbation; calm, tranquil, equable, unruffled.
   2. still 1340–
      Free from commotion. Settled, unperturbed in mind. †Also, in mystical language, said of one that has attained to freedom from passion.
   3. unperturbed a1450–
      Not perturbed; untroubled, undisturbed.
   4. unmoved c1480–
      Not moved by emotion or excitement; unaffected, undisturbed; collected, calm.
   5. tranquil 1481–
      Free from agitation or disturbance; calm, serene, placid, quiet, peaceful. Of the mind, or affairs.
   6. quietful 1494–
      Full of quiet; peaceful, calm.
   7. lown a1500–
      Esp. of a person: gentle, calm, quiet.
   8. equal 1529–1842
      Of 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…
   9. calm a1568–
      Free from agitation or disturbance; quiet, still, tranquil, serene; without wind, not stormy. transferred and figurative of sound, utterance…
   10. calmy a1586–
       Characterized by calm; tranquil, peaceful. figurative of thoughts, feelings, etc. (rare.)
   11. unpassionate a1586–
       Of a person, disposition, etc.: not susceptible to or influenced by passion or strong emotion; calm, self-possessed; (less neutrally) unfeeling…
   12. smartless 1593–
       Free from pain or irritation; (also) that does not cause smarting.
   13. reposeful 1594–
       Characterized by repose; having a calm or restful air; tranquil, quiet.
   14. dispassionate 1595–
       Free from the influence of passion or strong emotion; calm, composed, cool; impartial. Said of persons, their faculties, and actions.
   15. recollected 1595–
       Collected, composed, calm; (also) given up to or absorbed in religious contemplation. In attributive use.
   16. unaffected c1595–
       Not affected or influenced in mind or feeling; untouched, unmoved. Also const. by, †to, †with.
   17. collected 1601–
       Of a person or a person's mind, thoughts, etc.: calm, composed, self-controlled.
   18. unpassioned?1605–
       Free from or lacking in passion or strong emotion; dispassionate. Cf. unpassionate, adj.
   19. unpassionated 1611–1850
       Dispassionate. Cf. unpassionate, adj.
   20. untouched 1616–
       Not affected or prejudiced in mind or feeling; not biassed or moved by excitement or emotion; unmoved, undisturbed, calm.
   21. impassionate 1621–
       Free from, or not governed by, passion; calm, dispassionate.
   22. composed 1628–
       Having one's feelings or passions under control; calm and self-possessed, tranquil. The opposite of excited, distracted.
   23. dispassioned a1631–1761
       transitive. To free from passion. Chiefly in participial adj. disˈpassioned adj.
   24. tranquillous 1638–56
       = tranquil, adj.
   25. slow 1639–
       Without construction. Of a person, a person's temper, disposition, etc.: not easily roused; not readily moved to anger or impatience. Cf. quick, adj.…
   26. serene 1640–
       Of a person, his or her mind, circumstances, etc.: Calm, tranquil, untroubled, unperturbed. Of the countenance: Expressive of inward calm, unruffled.
   27. soft-tempered 1640–
       Having a pleasant and equable disposition; not easily angered or annoyed; good-tempered.
   28. dispassionated 1647
   29. imperturbed 1652–
       Not disturbed or agitated; esp. not mentally perturbed; calm, unexcited.
   30. unruffled 1654–
       Not unduly affected by excitement or emotion; not agitated or irritated; calm, composed, unperturbed.
   31. reposing 1655–
       That reposes; that is tranquil, calm, or (of a person or figure) recumbent; (also occasionally) that causes a person or thing to repose.
   32. equanimous 1656–
       Even-tempered; not easily elated or depressed.
   33. perplacid 1660
       Thoroughly placid or quiet.
   34. placate 1662
       Composed; placid.
   35. cooled 1682
       Made cool (in various senses). Formerly also: †made cold (obsolete).
   36. posed 1693
       Composed, grave, sedate.
   37. sedate 1693–
       Calm, quiet, composed; cool, sober, collected; undisturbed by passion or excitement. Of a person, his or her disposition, temper, deportment, actions.
   38. impassive 1699–
       Deficient in, or void of, mental feeling or emotion; not susceptible to mental impressions; unimpressionable, apathetic; also, in good sense, not…
   39. uninflamed 1714–
       figurative. Not emotionally warmed or excited.
   40. unexcited 1735–
       Not mentally stirred or moved.
   41. unalarmed 1756–
       (un-, prefix¹ affix 2.)
   42. unagitated 1772–
       Not mentally disturbed; not stirred or excited by emotion or unrest.
   43. undistraught 1773–
       (un-, prefix¹ affix 2b.)
   44. recollected 1792
       Collected, composed, calm; (also) given up to or absorbed in religious contemplation. In predicative use.
   45. equable 1796–
       Uniform, free from fluctuation or variation. Of the feelings, mind, temper, etc.: Even, not easily disturbed. Of a course of events: Free from…
   46. unfanned 1816–
       (un-, prefix¹ affix 2.)
   47. unfussy 1823–
       (un-, prefix¹ affix 1.)
   48. easy-going 1828–
       Characterized by a gentle or tolerant approach; having a relaxed character.
   49. self-collect 1830
       Self-possessed, composed. Cf. collected, adj. 3a. In self-collect. Obsolete. rare (archaic and poetic).
   50. unflurried 1854–
       (un-, prefix¹ affix 2.)
   51. cool 1855–
       Of a person or a personal attribute, quality, etc.: not affected by passion or emotion, dispassionate; controlled, deliberate, not hasty; calm…
   52. comfortable 1856–
       Expressing or characterized by comfort; easy and tranquil; undisturbed; also colloquial of persons, suggestive of complacency, placidly…
   53. disimpassioned 1860–
       Freed or free from passion; dispassionate.
   54. tremorless 1869–
       Without tremor or excitement; untrembling, unshaken. Also figurative.
   55. unpressured 1879–
       Not subject to emotional or mental pressure; relaxed, unconstrained.
   56. unrippled 1883–
       Esp. of a body of water: not rippled, smooth.
   57. ice-cool 1891–
       figurative. Lacking in enthusiasm or warmth; frosty, aloof; (also) steely, unruffled, intensely calm.
   58. unrattled 1891–
       Not flustered or agitated; calm, composed.
   59. Zen-like a1908–
       Reminiscent or characteristic of Zen Buddhism or its teachings; spec. meditative; calm, serene.
   60. unrestless 1919–
       Not restless; calm, peaceful.
   61. steadyish 1924–
       Moderately or fairly steady.
   62. ataractic 1941–
       Calm, serene.
   63. relaxed 1958–
       Leisurely, at ease; free from tension, anxiety, or stress.
   64. nonplussed 1960–
       Originally and chiefly U.S. Not disconcerted; unperturbed, unfazed.
   65. Zen 1962–
       Reminiscent of Zen Buddhism. Also more generally: calm and relaxed; serene. Cf. sense A.3.
   66. loose 1968–
       Of persons, etc.: relaxed or easy, calm; uninhibited. Esp. predic. (quasi-adv.) in to hang (or stay) loose. slang (originally U.S.).
   67. Zenned-out 1968–
       Of a person: relaxed, serene, laid-back (frequently with the implication of obliviousness). Also of a place or situation: characterized by…
   68. downtempo 1972–
       gen. Characterized by a slow pace; relaxed.
   69. mellowed 1977–
       colloquial (originally U.S.). With out. Relaxed, informal. Cf. mellow, v. 4b.
   70. de-stressed 1999–
       That is or has been de-stressed (in various senses of the verb); having had stress reduced or taken away; (of a person) relaxed.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## 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 data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### 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

Originally published as part of the entry for Zen, n. & adj.

Zen-like, adj. was first published in 2006.