composure
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Despite thousands of Polish fans cheering Chwalinska on, Andreeva showed her increased maturity to maintain composure and reel off the next nine games to take a 6-3 5-0 lead.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
Equally impressive was the composure he showed to eventually see out victory on his seventh match point.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
I watched a lot of his interviews just to see how he kept his cool and composure.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
I struggled to regain my composure after the first shock wave pierced my heart.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Mother could handle any crisis without losing her composure.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
