poise
noun
a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession.
have poised
-
present perfectof poise.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
His combative persona and provocations, however, have poised him for pitfalls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
Three steps on into darkness, and his knee found a chair that might have poised itself on one leg, in malicious ambush, so promptly did it go over—and with what a racket.
From The Day of Days An Extravaganza by Arthur William Brown
I still wonder how he could have poised so delicately and so long on that slender line of possible behavior.
From The Militants Stories of Some Parsons, Soldiers, and Other Fighters in the World by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews
But something drew me back to my first station, I know not why; and there I poised, as a bird might have poised, and lost myself in a blissful dream.
From The Thread of Gold by Arthur Christopher Benson
How grieved it now their souls to have poised the dart With arm outstretched; to have felt their raving thirst; And prayed the gods for victory in vain!
From Pharsalia; Dramatic Episodes of the Civil Wars by Lucan
