posture

[ pos-cher ]

noun

1. the relative disposition of the parts of something.
2. the position of the limbs or the carriage of the body as a whole:

   poor posture; a sitting posture.

3. an affected or unnatural attitude:

   He struck a comic posture.

4. a mental or spiritual attitude:

   His ideas reveal a defensive posture.

5. one's image or policy as perceived by the public, other nations, etc.:

   The company wants to develop a more aggressive marketing posture.

6. position, condition, or state, as of affairs.

verb (used with object)

, pos·tured, pos·tur·ing.

1. to place in a particular posture or attitude.
2. to position, especially strategically:

   to posture troops along a border.

3. to develop a policy or stance for (oneself, a company, government, etc.):

   The White House postured itself for dealing with the fuel crisis.

4. to adopt an attitude or take an official position on (a matter):

   The company postured that the court's ruling could be interpreted as being in its favor.

verb (used without object)

, pos·tured, pos·tur·ing.

1. to assume a particular posture.
2. to assume affected or unnatural postures, as by bending or contorting the body.
3. to act in an affected or artificial manner, as to create a certain impression.

posture

/ ˈpɒstʃə /

noun

1. a position or attitude of the limbs or body
2. a characteristic manner of bearing the body; carriage

   to have good posture

3. the disposition of the parts of a visible object
4. a mental attitude or frame of mind
5. a state, situation, or condition
6. a false or affected attitude; pose

verb

1. to assume or cause to assume a bodily position or attitude
2. intr to assume an affected or unnatural bodily or mental posture; pose

Derived Forms

• ˈposturer, noun
• ˈpostural, adjective

Other Words From

• pos·tur·al adjective
• pos·tur·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of posture¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from French, from Italian postura, from Latin positūra. See posit, -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of posture¹

C17: via French from Italian postura, from Latin positūra, from pōnere to place

Synonym Study

See position.

Example Sentences

It’s nice that I can customize the fit to help my posture as much as possible—without breaking the bank.

From Fortune

She argued that it was most valuable instead to approach art by imagining a zone “staked out for a variety of ideas and postures to flex and interact.”

From Vox

MTS is also pursuing an outside, third-party review of the agency’s policies and practices that could reshape its enforcement posture.

From Voice of San Diego

“We want to give away everything we’ve learned, just give it away so other universities can improve their posture with respect to leader development,” he says.

From Fortune

So they were in this posture, which we’ve come to call hide-and-bide.

From Freakonomics

He throws every fiber of his being into each performance, altering his posture, elocution, temperament, and more.

From The Daily Beast

Some immediately treated the young rapper as a punchline, turning his awkward posture in the photo into a meme.

From The Daily Beast

This season is all about monitoring posture, scrutinizing sun exposure, even exploring the health of a pet.

From The Daily Beast

Nonetheless, the Mission is working with local schools identified with the United States to review their security posture.

From The Daily Beast

I lived somewhere in the middle of the food chain—an involuntary humility, which remains the emotional posture behind reason.

From The Daily Beast

Sympathising with its desires, Benjy changed his posture, and managed just to touch the nose of his enemy.

From Project Gutenberg

He was told that a son must not play in his father's presence, nor assume free or easy posture before him.

From Project Gutenberg

The animal maintains a fairly upright posture, but walks with a waddling motion, its body rocking from side to side.

From Project Gutenberg

None of the other anthropoid apes ever walk erect, though they assume at times the upright posture.

From Project Gutenberg

Their attitude is in all cases an approach toward the erect one, which posture is attained by the gibbon.

From Project Gutenberg