composure
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of composure
Explanation
When you stay calm under pressure, you keep your composure. Keeping your composure for a skinned knee? Easy. Keeping your composure during an avalanche? Not so easy. The word composure is from the related word composed, but don't think of the word in the musical sense. In this case, composed means calm. What's the difference between the two? Well, composed is an adjective, so you simply are composed. Composure, on the other hand, is a noun, so you can lose, keep, regain, or maintain your composure — your ability to stay calm. If you lose your composure, you're freaking out.
Vocabulary lists containing composure
Metamorphosis
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The Things They Carried
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Inside Out & Back Again
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Trying to keep the composure and not flinch.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
An attorney for D2 said clients are “entitled to clinicians who are steady and fully available to them, and protecting the composure of that hour is how we protect the people we serve.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Atcheson, himself only 20 and playing for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, made his Northern Ireland debut in Wales in March, but showed composure beyond his years.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
The City players, though, mirrored their manager's feelings by staying calm, and it is this type of composure which has been the most impressive aspect during these first few weeks.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
“Goodbye, gentlemen,” Yishan said with a wink, and Pinmei marveled at his composure.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
