What does untamed mean?
Word: Untamed
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Untamed means wild and not controlled or trained by people. It can describe animals, land or even hair that will not stay in place.
Synonyms: wild, untrained
Word origin: Formed in English from un- and an Old English root.
How do you spell untamed?
Syllables: un - tamed
Tricky part: The m stays single, so untammed is wrong: tamed never doubles its m.
Watch out for: untammed, un-tamed
Memory tip: Unlike hum, which doubles its m to make hummed, tame keeps one m when it grows into tamed and untamed.
Untamed in a sentence
Example 1: An untamed horse will not let anyone ride it.
Example 2: Rhea's untamed curls refused to stay in a ponytail.
Example 3: Parts of the Sundarbans are still untamed mangrove forest.
Fun Fact
Zebras are close cousins of horses, yet they remain largely untamed: they startle and bolt so easily that efforts to train them as working animals have mostly failed.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) quick : speedy
b) wild : untaimed
c) brave : fearless
d) calm : peaceful
Show answer
b) wild : untaimed. Untamed has no i; the vowel sound after the t is spelt with a single a.
Spell Probe
Choose the meaning of the misspelt word in the sentence:
Grandpa's photo album has pictures of the untamd hills of Ladakh, taken long before any hotels were built there.
a) areas of high land, lower than mountains
b) left in a natural state, never shaped by people
c) a building where people pay to stay
d) a book for keeping photographs in
Show answer
b) left in a natural state, never shaped by people. Untamed needs an e before the d; the other words are spelt correctly.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its opposite:
1. untamed 2. docile 3. barren a. fertile b. unruly c. domesticated
a) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a. These are opposites: untamed and domesticated, docile and unruly, barren and fertile.
Word Champ
Read the three statements and choose the correct option:
1. A herbivore is an animal that eats only meat. 2. An untamed landscape has been left in its wild, natural state. 3. A nocturnal animal is active mainly at night.
a) all three are true
b) only 2 and 3 are true
c) only 1 is true
d) only 1 and 3 are true
Show answer
b) only 2 and 3 are true. A herbivore eats plants; it is a carnivore that eats meat.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A wildlife film shows an untamed elephant herd. Which behaviour fits that description?
a) waiting for a keeper to feed them
b) carrying tourists on their backs
c) roaming freely and ignoring people
d) standing still for a photo on command
Show answer
c) roaming freely and ignoring people
2. A gardener wants one corner of her garden to stay untamed. What will she do there?
a) lay neat rows of paving stones
b) plant flowers in straight lines
c) let the plants grow as they please
d) trim the hedges every week
Show answer
c) let the plants grow as they please
