poise
1 Americannoun
-
a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession.
to show poise in company.
- Synonyms:
- refinement, grace, polish, self-confidence
-
steadiness; stability.
intellectual poise.
- Antonyms:
- instability
-
a state of balance or equilibrium, as from equality or equal distribution of weight; equipoise.
- Antonyms:
- imbalance, disequilibrium
-
suspense or wavering, as between rest and motion or two phases of motion.
the poise of the tides.
-
the way of being poised, held, or carried.
-
the state or position of hovering.
the poise of a bird in the air.
verb (used with object)
-
poises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
poised,
past participle, past
-
poising
present participle
-
to adjust, hold, or carry in equilibrium; balance evenly.
-
to hold supported or raised, as in position for casting, using, etc..
to poise a spear.
-
to hold or carry in a particular manner.
She walked, carefully poising a water jug on her head.
-
to put (a person or thing) in a state or position of readiness or preparedness: The mayor is credited with poising the city for impressive growth and development.
He has poised himself to succeed.
The mayor is credited with poising the city for impressive growth and development.
-
Obsolete. to weigh.
verb (used without object)
-
poises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
poised,
past participle, past
-
poising
present participle
-
to rest in equilibrium; be balanced.
-
to hover, as a bird in the air.
noun
noun
-
composure or dignity of manner
-
physical balance or assurance in movement or bearing
-
the state of being balanced or stable; equilibrium; stability
-
the position of hovering
-
suspense or indecision
verb
-
to be or cause to be balanced or suspended
-
(tr) to hold, as in readiness
to poise a lance
-
(tr) a rare word for weigh 1
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
poisesimple
-
poisessimple
-
have poisedperfect
-
has poisedperfect
-
am poisingprogressive
-
are poisingprogressive
-
is poisingprogressive
-
have been poisingperfect progressive
-
has been poisingperfect progressive
Past
-
poisedsimple
-
had poisedperfect
-
was poisingprogressive
-
were poisingprogressive
-
had been poisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of poise1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun pois(e) “weight,” from Old French ( French poids ), from Late Latin pēnsum, noun use of neuter past participle of Latin pendere “to weigh”; Middle English verb poisen “to weigh,” from Old French poiser, variant, based on tonic stem, of peser, from Latin pēnsāre, frequentative of pendere
Origin of poise2
First recorded in 1910–15; from French; named after Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille (1799–1869), French physician
Explanation
If you have poise, you are cool under stress. People with poise can handle pressure without showing it. If you’re calm while singing the national anthem in front of thirty million people, you’ve got a lot of poise. This is a rare quality people admire. Another meaning is to brace yourself for something difficult, as in: when you hear about a tornado, you're poised for more bad news. You can also be poised as in "on the brink" of something. If you stand on the diving board it could be said you’re poised to take the plunge.
Vocabulary lists containing poise
The Things They Carried
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 1
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One of Us Is Lying
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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.
See Examples For:
No one has a better track record of helping young women artists articulate their emotional lives and writerly poise on record, and then making that record a smash hit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
“Communicating and keeping your poise and all those factors,” Harbaugh said of preparing for the loud environment in Kansas City.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Mr. Rushdie has unusual calamities to look back on, but he does so with astonishing poise and a resolutely dispassionate attitude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Croft says the Belarusian would benefit from applying the same level of poise during her matches.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Mozart’s emotional subtext, on the other hand, is disguised beneath the sheen of decorum and poise required of an eighteenth-century artisan.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Then there’s that open, teeth-exposing, wonder-filled smile that poises sheer delight on the brink of a bottomless despair, two states of feeling that somehow both negate and enhance each other.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2019
Others include pacifiers with a part that poises a choking hazard to young children.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2016
Contrasting lives: Syrian caught in the middle CIA director faces quandary on clandestine service appointment Choosing permanent head of division poises an early quandary for John Brennan.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 27, 2013
As it poises for further immigration initiatives, U.S.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 27, 2010
That was why he had been swinging the poises.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
In many races, the quality of individual candidates also is poised to be a deciding factor, including in Texas, where Republican Atty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Earlier this year, polls suggested Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was poised for a double-digit win in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
“With the consistent growth in our backlog and our significant investment in our businesses over the last decade, we are poised to drive continued performance in the years to come,” Chief Executive Phebe Novakovic said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The stock is poised to gain 20% or more by the first quarter judging by technical indicators.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
I wait too because Mom’s just come into the bedroom from the shower, and the first word poised to come out of my mouth would have had her up in arms.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
But that hasn’t slowed down the scooter-makers: Both Bird and Lime have raised hundreds of millions in venture capital funding, poising the companies to continue to expanding across the country.
From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2018
The Greeley Fire Department determined the people had carbon monoxide poising and 22 people were taken to a hospital Saturday night.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2018
A white hedonist basking deliciously among South Sea Islanders and a sturdy Cape Codder poising his malicious harpoon over boiling seas, join incongruously in the popular impression of Herman Melville.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last week a glittering aluminum Ceres took her place on the city's skyline, poising her twinkling magnificence on top of Chicago's tallest office pylon, the new 44-story, 609 ft.
From Time Magazine Archive
There, poising her flushing, the arch-stone of the realm, he made an end.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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