composed
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See calm.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of composed
Explanation
The adjective composed describes someone who is calm and shows no nervousness or agitation. You may be very upset about your brother’s unkind remark, but your composed face doesn’t give away your feelings. If you’re composed, that means you're free of emotion or nervousness — or at least you look that way. Composed typically describes an outward appearance, so you could be angry on the inside but still maintain a composed manner that hides what you’re really feeling. You’ll often hear the word used to describe someone who can keep everything under control during times of stress. You probably look composed even when you’re stressing out over your calculus exam.
Vocabulary lists containing composed
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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Mellow Out: Synonyms for "Calm"
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Dragon Hoops
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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.
He also composed albums based on ancient Tamil literature and devotional works, including Thiruvasagam.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
Every Maltese resident was to live within a 10-minute walk of green space, on an island composed largely of limestone, concrete, and the parking lot of a Lidl, that overall turns brown in the summer.
From Slate • Jun. 6, 2026
Blended with cream cheese and cucumber, it becomes a sandwich spread with the flavor profile of a carefully composed herb dressing and the effort level of opening a packet.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
Guo notes that several solar thermal desalination technologies have shown promising results in laboratory studies using simplified seawater composed only of water and sodium chloride.
From Science Daily • May 31, 2026
I expected she would show signs of great distress and shame; but to my surprise she neither wept nor blushed: composed, though grave, she stood, the central mark of all eyes.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions 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.
