poise

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈpɔɪz/ 🇺🇸 /ˈpɔɪz/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A state of balance or equilibrium; a condition of being evenly balanced or suspended.; Graceful and elegant bearing in a person; composure and dignity of manner.; A state of readiness or preparedness; a state of being poised for action.; A unit of dynamic viscosity in the CGS system, equal to one dyne-second per square centimeter.; Weight or heaviness; the quality of being heavy.
  2. verb
    To balance or hold in equilibrium; to suspend or hold steady.; To hold or carry oneself in a graceful or composed manner.; To be in a state of readiness or suspense; to hover or be suspended.; To weigh or measure the weight of something.; To counterbalance or offset one thing against another.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable 3rd sing.: poises Past: poised Past part.: poised Pres part.: poising

Collocations

with poisepoised topoise oneselfmaintain one's poiselose one's poisepoise and grace

Derivatives

poisedpoising

Synonyms

composuregraceequilibriumbalanceaplombself-possessionelegance

Antonyms

awkwardnessclumsinessagitation

Commonly confused

pose
EN: 'Pose' refers to a deliberately assumed position or attitude; 'poise' refers to graceful balance, composure, and self-assurance.
pause
EN: 'Pause' means a temporary stop or break; 'poise' means balanced composure or readiness.

Spelling tips

EN: Don't confuse 'poise' with 'pose'—remember the 'i' in 'poise.' Also note that 'poised' (adjective meaning ready or balanced) is far more common in everyday use than the verb 'poise' itself.

💬 Examples

  1. The acrobat maintained perfect poise on the tightrope.

  2. She handled the difficult questions with remarkable poise.

  3. The army was in a state of poise, waiting for the signal to advance.

  4. The viscosity of water at 20°C is approximately 0.01 poise.

  5. The poise of the stone made it difficult to lift.

  6. She poised the book on her head and walked across the room.

  7. He poised himself at the edge of the diving board.

  8. The hawk poised in the air above its prey.

  9. The merchant poised the gold on the scales before the transaction.

  10. The advantages are poised against the disadvantages in the analysis.